Canada cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Philippines Saturday at the start of the XVII Women's Softball World cup at the Campo Comunale da Softball in Castions di Strada, Italy.

The Canadians broke the game open at the bottom of the third inning after Janet Leung hit a home run that sent her, Emma Etzminger and Kelsey Harshmann for a 3-0 lead.

Etzminger scored another home run for Canada at the bottom of the fourth inning for a 4-0 advantage before Leung struck again at the bottom of the fifth.

The Blu Girls currently has a 0-1 win-loss record in Group C along with Venezuela and New Zealand.

Japan is currently playing against the Blu Girls as of press time.

The last time both squads faced each other was at the preliminary round of the Women's Softball Asia Cup on 7 April where the Japanese delivered a 9-1 beating of the Philippines.