US on the move in softball, Canada in way next

The wins gave the US a 3-1 record overall and a playoff game Wednesday against the Canadians, who have won all four matches they have played, outscoring the opposition 39-0.

In the suspended game against Australia, Ware cleared the bases with a two-out triple and pitcher Dana Alcocer (2-0-1) held off a late Australian rally in the bottom of the eighth.

At the games pool, American Pat Mellors broke his own games record in the 400-meter individual medley in a time of 4 minutes 12.94 seconds. The time was more than a second better than his record-setting preliminary swim earlier Monday.

American Alex Vanderkaay took the silver in 4:17.34 and bronze went to Italys Federico Turrini in 4:19.96.

American Adam Ritter won the 200 freestyle and Ukraine’s Sergii Breus the men’s 50 butterfly. Japan ended the American monopoly in relays, winning gold in the women’s 400-meter medley relay in a time of 4 minutes, 03.11 seconds. The Americans were second in 4:03.96 and Canada third.

In men’s tennis, Danai Udomchoke claimed a week ago that he’d feel extra pressure playing in front of his home crowd at the games.

The Asian Games champion and top-seeded player here isn’t showing it, though, rolling to his third straight lopsided singles victory. On Monday, he beat Indonesia’s Prima Simpatiaji 6-0, 6-1 in 39 minutes in the round of 16. All of his wins have been in straight sets. On Monday, he had only eight unforced errors to Simpatiaji’s 24, and had 14 winners to his opponent’s five.

The United States, represented by the University of Northern Iowa, beat China 88-51 in a men’s basketball game. The Americans outscored China 22-6 in the final quarter. Travis Brown led the US with 24 points, while Eric Coleman added 14 and Jordan Egiseder 12.

The US men’s volleyball team recorded a 3-0 win over Taiwan to finish play in Pool C with a 5-0 record. They won 25-19, 25-20, 25-22 to advance to the medal round against either Canada or the Ukraine.

Mexico, Thailand come to blows

BANGKOK: Soccer players from Thailand and Mexico fought openly on the pitch Monday at the World University Games in a match eventually won by the home team 1-0. In the fourth minute of extra time, a Mexican player clashed with Thai player Amarin Yaodam, and the brawl started shortly after.

It was uncertain how many players were given red cards by Canadian referee Paul Ward — unconfirmed reports ranged from four to six players. Organisers declined to comment and no official match statistics were available. Television footage showed players from both teams lying on the ground after the brawl.