Former Syracuse softball star Jenna Caira made her Olympic debut on Wednesday, throwing a scoreless inning and helping Team Canada to a win over Mexico.
Caira was one of three pitchers used by Canada during a 4-0 opening win. She allowed one hit and struck out one, coming on in relief of starting pitcher Sara Groenewegen (University of Minnesota) to protect the four-run lead.
The combination of Groenewegen, Caira and Danielle Lawrie (University of Washington) allowed just two hits over the seven innings for Canada. Canada was one of three teams to win its opening game, joining the United States and Japan.
Caira and Canada will face a bigger challenge on Wednesday night when they face the United States at 8 p.m. in the second game for each team. The game will be broadcast on NBC Sports and streamed on NBCOlympics.com.
The United States opened its Olympics with a 2-0 win over Italy.
The opening ceremonies in Tokyo are scheduled to be held on Friday, but there are a handful of competitions that take place ahead of them.
Caira is one of 13 athletes with Central New York ties competing in the Olympics but is the only one scheduled to compete over the first three days.
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