Female knuckleballer Eri Yoshida got her first loss of the season in the independent Golden Baseball League on Thursday.
Yoshida allowed three runs — two earned — and three hits in five innings as the Chico Outlaws fell to the Edmonton Capitals 10-2 at Nettleton Stadium.
The 18-year-old walked three and struck out none while hitting two batters in her third start.
Yoshida (0-1) kept the Capitals scoreless in the first three innings but surrendered three runs in the next two innings.
"I didn't have good command of my knuckleball from the very start and with that I had no room to think about anything else," Yoshida said regretfully.
In a ceremony held during the game, Yoshida's jersey and bat from her Golden Baseball League debut on May 29 were donated to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
After the game, Yoshida could not hide her surprise when she heard that eight Japan-Future Baseball League players were found to have gambled on top-tier professional baseball and had their contracts with the Osaka Gold Villicanes terminated.
Yoshida said some of her former Kobe 9 Cruise teammates joined the Osaka club in the offseason.
