Lovieanne Jung, the No. 8 hitter, hit a grand slam to break up a scoreless game and lead the Americans to a 6-1 victory over Canada on Friday night in the World Cup of Softball.

"It's nice to have an eighth hitter that can leave the yard at any time," U.S. coach Mike Candrea said.

The victory for the Americans (2-0) avenged a 2-1 loss to Canada (0-2) exactly one year earlier in the opening round of last year's tournament.

"I think it was a little bit more of revenge," Jung said. "They came out and they were more aggressive with us last year and we were a little bit more passive. That was something we knew we needed to change."

Jessica Mendoza, who homered twice in the Americans' 14-0 win against Britain on Thursday night, had the team's only hit against Kaila Holtz (0-1) before Holtz hit Stacey Nuveman with a pitch with two outs in the fourth. Andrea Duran followed with a single that Rachel Schill dove to corral in shallow right-center but could not catch.

Canadian coach Lori Sippel then replaced Holtz with Robin Mackin, and she walked Tairia Flowers before yielding Jung's blast to center field. It was Jung's first home run for the national team since a 7-0 win against Australia on June 11, 2005.

"Lovie's a good hitter," said Candrea, who coached Jung at Arizona. "Lovie was a great hitter in college and I think really has stressed a little bit since she's been with our team. I know she's very capable of being much more consistent.

"I like her approach this year. I think she's finally having a little bit of fun, put a smile on her face and playing the game the way I know she can play."

Sippel stood by her decision to go with Mackin, an 18-year-old who was the WAC pitcher of the year as a freshman at Fresno State last season.

"I would make the change the same as I did today — absolutely," Sippel said. "I know Robin's a young pitcher, but at the same time she's very capable of coming in and getting that last out."

The Americans loaded the bases off Mackin with one in the fifth on an infield chopper by Natasha Watley, a bunt single by Caitlin Lowe and a walk by Crystl Bustos but got only one run on Nuveman's sacrifice fly to shallow right.

Bustos added an RBI single in the seventh.

It was the kind of offensive production the U.S. didn't get in its loss to Canada a year earlier. The Canadians scored two unearned runs and 18-year-old Danielle Lawrie pitched a five-hitter in that game to give the U.S. — winners of all three Olympic softball gold medals — its first loss in international play in three years.

"They've got people that can run, they can hit, they can all play short game, they can all have speed when they want it, they can have the power when the need it," Sippel said. "That's great, but we could have still done better to make it a little closer ballgame."

Lawrie pitched in the World Cup opener for Canada on Thursday night.

Canada's Melanie Matthews broke up Jamie Southern's shutout in the fifth with a home run to center field that ricocheted off Laura Berg's glove as she reached over the wall.

Southern (1-0), who struck out seven in a no-hitter against Canada in a Pan Am Games qualifier in December, had her chances at perfection dashed early in this meeting.

Matthews lined Southern's second pitch of the game to the gap in right-center for a double, but was stranded at third when Berg tracked down Alison Bradley's fly ball in shallow center.

Southern allowed five hits and struck out six in five innings, and Cat Osterman struck out four in two scoreless innings of relief.

"We always want to go out and dominate as pitchers but it's nice to have a run," Southern said. "But to get four at one time, it's very nice."

Australia 12, Britain 0, 4½ innings

Danica Howlett homered and drove in four runs and Belinda Wright had three RBI to lead Australia.

Howlett and Wright each had two-run singles in a six-run second inning for Australia, and Howlett added a solo home run the following inning. She also was credited with an RBI when she reached on a one-out error in the first inning.

For the second straight game, Britain was limited to one hit and lost in five innings because of the run rule. The U.S. beat Britain 14-0 Thursday night.

Japan 6, China 4, 9 innings

Emi Naito's 2-run home run in the top of the ninth inning lifted defending champion Japan past China.

China (0-2) scored four runs in the bottom of the first off Japan pitcher Yuko Endo — two on a double by Zhang Ai — to go ahead 4-1, but Japan (2-0) tied the game 4-4 by the third inning.

Mariko Goto and Juri Takayama combined to throw six innings of shutout relief for Japan, allowing only two hits.

Naito's home run came off China reliever Yu Huili.