Former Nicholls Standout Meier Pitching For Canadian Olympic Team

THIBODAUX, La. – The Canadian Olympic softball squad benefited from the strong pitching performance by former Colonel Dione Meier last night in the preliminary-rounds against Team USA before rain postponed the action in the fourth inning with Canada on top 1-0.

The US-Canada contest will pick up where it left off following the US-Japan match at Noon in Beijing, China on Friday. The US-Japan game will be televised on CNBC starting at 1 a.m. locally, however, it is not specified whether the network will carry the US-Canada makeup. Canada will play China at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, which will be 8:30 p.m. locally before they finish up with the US.

Meier carried a one-hitter shutout through four innings before the third and final rain delay of the game forced the game to be postponed. The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada native holds the distinction of being Nicholls first ever Olympian.

“It is great to see [Meier] doing well, we are all routing for her and wish her the best of luck in representing not only her country but Nicholls as well,” said head softball coach Jenny Parsons, who coached Meier at Nicholls.

“I will definitely be up late tonight watching to see how she performs. I know that a lot of her former teammates that she played with here at Nicholls will be as well, and are cheering for her.”

USA Softball Match Postponed

BEIJING — Until today, the U.S. Softball team had not trailed in an Olympic match since the gold medal game in 2000 against Japan.

With the game halted with in the top of the third inning, Mike Candrea’s squad find themselves down 1-0 against Canada.

Much as the rain pelted the Tucson area for some part of the evening, a 1:40 delay stopped the game on the other side of the world in the bottom of the second. Play resumed briefly, but was called off with Natasha Watley at bat in the top of the fourth.

Team Canada scored an unearned run in the bottom of the first off of an uncharacteristic error by Caitlin Lowe in center, and a sacrifice fly off of starting pitcher Monica Abbott.

More information on make-up time and date will become available soon.

Jen Yee And Caitlin Lever Lead Canada To 9-2 Win Over Netherlands

BEIJING – Redshirt junior Jen Yee was 2-for-3 with a triple, run scored and three RBI while former Tech stand-out Caitlin Lever went 2-for-3 with two runs scored as Canada breezed past The Netherlands 9-2 Wednesday morning to remain undefeated in Olympic pool play. The Canadians will now face Team USA (2-0) tonight at midnight (ET). The game can be seen live on CNBC-HD.

It was a scoreless game until Yee came up with the bases loaded and two outs in the third inning. She gave the Canadians all the offense they would need with a bases-clearing triple over the right fielders head.

Lever added two more hits and two runs scored following up her 2-for-2 performance in Canada’s opener against Chinese Taipei.

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Consecutive No-No's Fuel USA Softball

BEIJING — One day after making Olympic history, Team USA once again displayed their pitching prowess in another no-hit, shutout victory over a tough opponent in Australia, 3-0.

Cat Osterman (1-0) pitched all seven innings of the contest, surrendering three walks while striking out 13. The University of Texas graduate struck out the side twice, and sat the Australians down in order from the fourth inning on in their second game at the 2008 Olympic Games, no-hitting the opponent for the second day in a row.

Far from the record-breaking offensive output of yesterday, Tanya Harding (0-1) held the U.S. to just three runs on four hits while striking out four and walking three. But an RBI single by Natasha Watley and a two-run jack by Crystl Bustos lit the scoreboard for the only runs of the match.

The first four innings saw the U.S. place a total four runners on, but Harding wiggled her way out of every jam, including inducing an around the horn double play in the first inning. Osterman allowed two baserunners in both the first and third innings, but ended each with strikeouts.

Arizona alumna Lovieanne Jung earned a one-out walk in the fifth inning and stole second an out later to put herself into scoring position. The next pitch was blooped by Watley into shallow left center, and Jung crossed home as the throw to the plate was cut off to open the scoring.

Jessica Mendoza led off the top of the sixth with a walk followed by an opposite field blast courtesy of Bustos to widen the margin, 3-0. Andrea Duran reached third after a walk, stolen base and a Jung base hit, but Tucson native Tairia Flowers struck out to end the threat.

Osterman struck out the side in the seventh to preserve the victory. The U.S. upped their record to 2-0 at the 2008 Olympics, while Australia slipped to 0-2.

A day removed from hitting the first inside-the-park home run in Olympic history, former Wildcat Caitlin Lowe reached on an error in the first inning, but ended the night 0-3 at the dish.

Up Next: Team USA will take on Team Canada at 9 p.m. Tucson time on Wednesday night. Check your local listings for television coverage in your area.

USA Opens With Olympic Record

BEIJING, China – The USA Softball team opened the 2008 Olympic Games making a statement breaking an Olympic record for most runs scored in a game by a single team and tying an Olympic record with three homeruns. The three-time defending Gold Medal winning team captured an 11-0 victory in five innings against Olympic rookie team Venezuela. Breaking its own previous record which was 10 runs from the 2004 Olympic Games, the U.S. used 11 hits including three home runs and a base clearing double to improve to a 15-game win Olympic win streak dating back to 2000.

“Today we were really excited to get on the field,” said head coach Mike Candrea. “I was pleased with our outing and at bats and where we are right now. Jennie gave a really strong pitching performance from the circle and things were good. But in the Olympics there is no time to celebrate…. On to the next game.”

With a combined no-hit performance from Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) and Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.), rookie Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) led the U.S. effort with a 3-for-4 debut with one RBI coming on a solo inside the park home run.

“Well I was happy that I got a good pitch,” said Lowe when asked her thoughts on the home run. “Then once I rounded first base I saw coaching doing his wave thing and knew I was going to go all the way.”

Along with Lowe, designated player Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) was 2-for-3 with one RBI while third base rookie Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) was also 2-for-3 with a team leading three RBI.

Winning pitcher Finch tallied four hitless innings recording five strikeouts and allowed two walks.

The U.S. put its first runner of the Olympic Games into scoring position early. Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) led the visiting team with a lead off walk before Lowe recorded her first hit of her Olympic career with a chopping shot to left field. With the speed of Watley now at second base, the U.S. threatened to score with its RBI leaders on deck. Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) recorded a flyout advancing Watley to third base but then back-to-back flyouts left the runners stranded.

Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) was quickly on base in the top of the second inning after the ball brushed her right thigh placing her on first with a hit by pitch. Two-time Olympian Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) then made her first at bat of the 2008 Games a memorable one with a base hit to right field pushing Duran to third base. Lovie Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.) drove in the first run of the game with a sacrifice flyout to right field plating Duran for the 1-0 lead.

The U.S. then padded their lead with power from the leadoff hitters. Watley connected on her first-ever Olympic home run with a two-run shot to left center before Lowe drove the ball just over the Venezuelan left fielder’s head and legged out an inside-the-park home run for the 4-0 advantage.

The long ball struck once again in the top of the third inning when Olympic record holder for home runs with five, Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) belted the ball out to left field within three seconds with a straight shot over the 220 fences. Two-time Olympian Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Springs, Fla.) was then hit by a pitch before Duran recorded her first ever Olympic base hit with a drive to left field. Nuveman then looked to knock in some RBI, but grounded into a double play with Duran out on the play. The U.S. then scored its sixth run on an error from the Venezuelan left fielder who dropped a routine pop up from Jung that plated Kretschman.

A pitching change from Venezuela bringing in Marianella Castellanos didn’t phase the U.S. bats as they put five more runs on the board in the top of the fourth inning for an 11-0 eventual win. Lowe started the inning with a single to right field before a Mendoza hit-by-pitch put two runners on with no outs. Bustos then drove in her second hit of the game to load the bases for the Red, White and Blue. Castellanos continued to struggle issuing a walk to Kretschman that allowed Lowe to score. Four-time Olympian Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) then entered her fourth and final Olympic Games as a pinch runner for Kretschman. Duran then belted a base clearing double, the first of the game, scoring three runs before Jung roped in an RBI single for the fifth run of the game.

Yaicey Sojo was the only Venezuela player to reach base earning two walks off of Finch.

Up next the U.S. will battle a familiar foe in 2004 Olympic silver medal winning team Australia. The U.S. is 20-7 overall against Australia in major international competition (Olympics, World Championships, and World Cups). Game time is Noon on Wednesday, August 13.

USA Softball Opens Tonight

BEIJING — Team USA and Arizona Softball head coach Mike Candrea will open their gold medal defense tonight against Venezuela in what could be the final year of the sport being played at an Olympic level.

A 2005 International Olympic Committee vote dropped baseball and softball from competition in the 2012 Olympic games.

Coming off an Olympic year in which Team USA outscored its opponents 51-1 en route to their third straight gold medal, Candrea and former Wildcats Jennie Finch, Lovieann Jung and Caitlin Lowe look to maintain their historical dominance over the field at the XXIX Olympiad in the capital city of China.

The United States has won every gold medal since softball became an Olympic sport in 1996.

Team USA had won an astonishing 185 straight games in pre-Olympic tours under Candrea and predecessor Ralph Raymond before finally falling to Virginia Tech on a no-hit effort by Honda Award Winner and USA Softball Player of the Year Angela Tincher on March 26, 2008. The team never skipped a beat after the fact, and has gone undefeated in the time span since, leading up to Monday night’s opener (Tuesday afternoon in Beijing) against Venezuela.

First pitch is scheduled for 9 p.m. MST and will be broadcast live on CNBC.

USA Softball 2008 Beijing Olympic Schedule (Tucson date and time)

8/11 vs. Venezuela at 9 p.m.

8/12 vs. Australia at 9 p.m.

8/13 vs. Canada at 9 p.m.

8/14 vs. Japan at 9 p.m.

8/15 vs. Chinese Taipei at 9 p.m.

8/17 vs. Netherlands at 4:30 a.m.

8/17 vs. China at 9 p.m.

Check your local listings for television coverage.

Softball Nears Start With Eventful Past Couple Of Days

BEIJING, China — With just two days before competition, the USA Softball team has had an eventful past couple of days in China. Back-to-back visits from President Bush and participation in an Opening Ceremonies celebration that amazed the World, the team is enjoying this once-in-a-lifetime experience and ready to take the field on Tuesday against Venezuela atNoon/local time.

Beginning on 08/08/08, 13 members of the U.S. team participated in an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by participating in the Opening Ceremonies decked head to toe in their parade uniforms. With over 700 athletes, the evening began with mingling of the U.S. athletes before the former President Bush and current President Bush along with First Lady Laura Bush addressed the U.S. athletes.

“Meeting the Bush family was awesome,” said Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.). “They have done great service for our country and it was so neat to see them out there supporting us. They are big supporters of Olympic sports and they definitely want to see softball in 2016.”

The cameras were flashing as members of the softball team were sending their well wishes to members of the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams, tennis teams, track and field and volleyball. In fact, a challenge was offered up from LeBron James and Jason Kidd to try and hit off of Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) and Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.). All in good fun, the laughs were exchanged and the ‘The Challenge’ date is To Be Determinedfollowing the Olympics.

The athletes paraded into the Bird’s Nest(Track and Field Venue) representing the Red, White and Blue experiencing moments to last a lifetime.

“It was so amazing and wonderful to see the torch lit. There is nothing anything like it, it was so cool,” said first-time Olympian Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.). “Meeting all the U.S. athletes before was incredible because we were all dressed the same as one team. Everyone was taking pictures, wishing good luck.. It was so neat to meet all the famous athletes.”

Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) who missed the Opening Ceremonies in 2004 was equally thrilled at being a part of the event.

“What an amazing night. It was a lot of fun getting a chance before we lined up to mingle with the other U.S. Athletes in the delegation. Also meeting the President… Wow, just a crazy, crazy night. The best part was the guy running around the top with the images of the torch being shown. Being in the middle of the venue and watching the fireworks was an incredible feeling.”

After the incredible evening, the U.S. returned to the field on Saturday afternoon for a noon practice to which the current President Bush stopped by for a visit.

“Seeing and talking with the President twice in two days is pretty exciting,” said Finch “He came to practice and greeted our team and also called out our team huddle of “Who do you play for?…USA. Laura Berg, our prankster, pulled her classic chalk handprint and he was such a good sport. Wow, what an incredible past couple of days.”

The President and his entourage watched the team warm up and he was impressed with the power of Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) as he gave her a high-five after batting practice.

The team was able to pose for a photo for the press who were in attendance as the President gave his remarks for the sport.

The president called the group “the gold medal champs,” and said that softball should be returned to the Olympic program. “It’s good for the world to have girls playing softball, and these women are going to show girls how to win,” he said.

It was back to business once the President departed as the U.S. had an inner squad scrimmage before leaving practice at 2 p.m. The entire 15-member team then headed to the Main Press Center for a pre-competition press conference.

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Lady Rams Participating In 2008 Olympics

BEIJING, China — The University of Mobile (Ala.) has five past or present softball players on the Venezuelan National Softball Team that will open play in the 2008 Summer Olympics Tuesday, August 12th versus the U.S. National Team.

The Lady Rams were also well-represented at the Opening Ceremonies as former Lady Ram Maria Soto was selected to carry the Venezuelan Flag at the ceremonies. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez presented the flag to the softball team.

“You are already writing pages in the Venezuelan history. From my hands of soldier I give you this flag to the daughters of the homeland, to the daughters of the flag,” Chavez said when delivering the flag to team captain Maria Soto.

Current University of Mobile center fielder Yaicey Sojo, second baseman Jineth Pimentel and Assistant Coach Maribel Riera are joined on the team by Lady Ram alumni Soto and Denisse Fuenmayor.

Fuenmayor posted a career .376 batting average at Mobile, Soto totaled 264 hits from 1998-03 in the Mobile lineup, Riera hit .364 for the Lady Ram’s 2006 National Championship team, Sojo is a two-time NAIA All-American at Mobile, and Pimentel earned All-American honors in her first season with the Lady Rams.

The Venezuelans play the U.S. August 12th at noon and then battle China at 9:30 am on August 13th to begin the action.

Beijing Blogs – Andrea Duran – Aug. 9, 2008

Aug. 9, 2008

My flight over to Beijing went smoothly. It did not feel very long at all. I kept myself occupied by reading, eating and napping. Playing Sudoku on my Nintendo DS also kept me occupied. The flight wasn’t that bad because I already knew what to expect since this is the third time I’ve been to China.

The Opening Ceremonies were so awesome. This is my first Olympics and my first Opening Ceremonies and it was a memory that will last a lifetime. Growing up I would always watch the Opening Ceremonies waiting for the United States to walk out and here I was doing it myself. It was a great experience. As I was finally walking through the tunnel after waiting to walk out on the track, the entire U.S. delegation started to chant “USA!, USA!” and it was an incredible moment.

When I finally got to the opening of the stadium, it was one big rush to see all of the people up in the stands cheering and waving for our country. I will never forget that moment. It got me so pumped to finally get these Games started. Another highlight was the torch lighting ceremony. To be there live gave me chills and at that moment I knew it was finally time to get down to business.

GOLD Teams Head Home as Winners Rest

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — Cooler temperatures brought a little relief from the heat but not from Wednesday’s urgency as twenty-four teams were sent home in the 2008 ASA Girls’ 18-under GOLD Fastpitch National Championship.

Wednesday marked the first day of elimination at the Championship as the winners’ earned a day off to watch 40 teams battle it out for the right to play on.

Team representing the state of Texas found themselves in a peculiar quandary, as every team from the state started the day in the losers’ bracket needing a win to survive. With the second largest delegation, the state’s teams faced an uphill battle to make it to the weekend.

Texas Blaze, from Round Rock, TX, survived, but not after vanquishing the GT Shockers, from Beaumont, TX, 3-0. The Sudden Impact Gold, from Chappell Hill, TX also made it through the second round of the losers’ bracket. The Texas Glory, Texas Travelers, Texas Express, and Texas Impact are all looking to extend the remaining number of Texas teams still alive during the morning session.

Winners’ bracket play resumes Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., with 16 teams looking to extend their unbeaten run through bracket play.

The 2008 National Championship field is composed of teams from every ASA region and 22 different states. Thirty-five teams are returning from the 2007 edition of the double-elimination national tournament.

All remaining games played will be broadcast live over the Internet using Gametracker and all games played on the stadium field will have a live camera to follow the action.

USA Softball Sets Foot on Competition Venue

BEIJING, China – After a much anticipated wait, the USA Softball Women’s National team finally took the field in China as they completed the first day of practice at Fengtai Stadium including an hour of practice on the Stadium field where they will look to defend their fourth-consecutive gold medal. The team will continue practicing and adjusting to life in the village before they take on Venezuela on Aug. 12 atNoonlocal time.

The team is enjoying the village and all it brings including the amazing atmosphere, learning about new cultures and bonding together even more as the team is sharing three rooms between the 15 girls!

On the schedule today is practice and then Lovie Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.), Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) and Osterman will be making an appearance on the TODAYShow with several other members of Team USA. Check out NBC to see if you can catch the appearance.

The team continues its experience of the Olympic Games by taking part in the Opening Ceremonies on 8-8-08. Thirteen of the 15-person roster will be attending the Ceremonies with several of the coaches also in attendance.

Former Olympian Michele Smith Talks Laura Berg

FRESNO, Calif. – Two-time Olympic gold medalist Michele Smith won’t be playing in the 2008 Beijing games but rather broadcasting the game for NBC from Manhattan, N.Y. Smith has played professional softball in Japan for the last 14 years and has been the main commentator for softball on ESPN and the Women’s College World Series.

Not many people know this year’s National Team or former Fresno State All-American Laura Berg better than Smith. Berg and Smith won gold together in the 1996 and 2000 games and also played together in the World Championships.

“Having played with her for quite a while and from a pitchers standpoint she was an impact player,” said Smith. “When I was on the mound and knowing she was behind me was reassuring. If anything was catchable she would get it.”

Softball became an Olympic sport in 1996 in which Berg and Smith both played a large part in Team USA’s dominating run to a gold medal. Smith was 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA in the those Olympics while Berg scored the first run of the gold medal game.

“I think the rest of the world has gotten better,” added Smith. “They (other countries) weren’t ready in 1996 but the rest of the world has been playing the game for six years so they have caught up to the United States.”

The two went on to win gold with Team USA in 2000 before Smith retired right before the 2004 Athens Games to continue to play professionally overseas.

In the 2000 Olympics, Berg sealed the gold medal for the U.S. with the game-winning hit. She then had a perfect fielding percentage in the 2004 games on her way to her third gold medal.

“Laura made some of the best catches I have ever seen in the outfield,” said Smith. “That’s the thing with Laura, she might not have been the fastest player on the team but she got the quickest jump on the ball. It’s almost like she had a crystal ball to see where the ball would be hit before it actually was.”

Berg will be the only four-time softball Olympian for the United States in Beijing. Lisa Fernandez, who many expected to all be a four-time Olympian, toured with the team in the spring but will not be with the team in China.

“A lot of people thought Lisa would be a four-time Olympian, but Laura was always the team player and she will be the only four-time Olympian in the history of USA softball,” added Smith. “That just shows the type of person and athlete that she is. It was never for show for her it was about her team, USA, red white and blue and that’s what personifies Laura Berg.”

When talking about what to expect from the 2008 team in Beijing, Smith said that it won’t be easy this year as all eight teams will be gunning for gold since this is the final year for softball in the Olympics.

“I know the team inside and out I think they are well prepared,” Smith said. “Even if Laura is not a regular starting member, her role on the sidelines will be as important as if she was on the field. I think they will be more challenged this year but Laura’s leadership will help guide the team to the top. Laura might be the veteran but she is still the prankster on the team. She has the ability to keep things light and knows when to turn that switch and be serious. That’s another great quality for her that will help her lead this team to greatness.”

USA Begins Olympic Journey

BEIJING, China — After a long day of logging airlines miles, the USA Softball Women’s National team arrived in Beijing, China on Tuesday evening to begin its defense of three-consecutive Olympic Gold Medals. A week from competition that begins on August 12, the team spent three days of practice and training at Stanford University before processing in San Jose prior to departure.

The team recently wrapped up the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour with a 59-1 record, traveling from Arizona to Florida to South Dakota in preparation for the Olympics. The exhibition games drew an average of 3,000 fans per game while offensively the U.S. put up 11 runs per game. Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) was the leader for the team in almost all offensive categories. She hit .495 with a team high 102 hits while scoring 89 runs. She was the only player on the team to surpass 100 RBI with 107 and also holds a team high 25 doubles during the tour. Fan favorite Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) bolted a team-high 28 home runs for a second-best 93 RBI. Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.), who came through with some clutch hits during the tour, drew a team high 49 walks while speedy Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) snagged a team-high 23 stolen bases only being caught once.

From the circle Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) led the team with 19 wins while also suffering the only loss for the tour, when the team was no-hit by Virginia Tech on March 28. She made appearances in more than half of the games during the tour with 31 while make a team-tying best 17 starts. She worked 118.2 innings followed closely by Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) with 115.1.The lefty hurled a team-high 247 strikeouts in 28 appearances for a 15-0 record. Rounding out the pitching staff is Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) who started 17 games with 26 appearances while allowing 10 earned runs with 218 strikeouts. The three pitchers combined to hold opponents to a 0.47 average while their offense hit at a .432 clip.

“One thing about this team is that the chemistry is really strong. They have come together quite well. They did a phenomenal job during the tour staying strong and they have a great mindset heading into the Games,” said Head Coach Mike Candrea. “A lot of our team has a very positive database from the 2004 Games where we dominated, but there are also those who have the memory of the 2000 Games where we played with our backs against the wall. We have to prepare for both of those situations. We have done all we can and now we just need to get over there and start playing.”

Now with the Tour behind them, the team will open up with Venezuela on Aug.12th at noon/local time. Ten players will look to earn another gold medal while five members of the team will look for their first. Abbott, Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.), Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.), Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) and Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) will all enter the Olympic arena for their first-time while veteran Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) will look to make history with her fourth consecutive gold medal. At the 2004 Olympic Games, the USA dominated with a 9-0 record, allowing only one run while breaking 18 individual and team records. However the road to a Gold Medal has not always been golden. In 2000, the team suffered three losses before going eight innings for a 2-1 victory against Japan in the Gold Medal game. They battled through five extra-inning games before taking home their second Gold Medal.

Candrea Receives Distinguished Service Award

DAPHINE, Ala. — United States Sports Academy Trustee Jack Scharr presented University of Arizona and USA Olympic Softball coach Mike Candrea with the Academy’s Distinguished Service Award during a ceremony in St. Louis earlier this summer during the USA Softball team’s pre-Olympic tour stop in Missouri.

Candrea led the Wildcats to back-to-back NCAA softball championships in 2006 and 2007. With eight national championships in the last 17 years, Candrea’s credentials include 1,100 career Division I victories faster than any coach in history, rounding out that achievement with 19 trips to the Women’s College World Series over the last 20 years.

Candrea spent the summer of 2006 leading Team USA to a World Cup of Softball title and a gold medal at the ISF World Championships in Beijing. Following Arizona’s fall workouts, he coached the U.S. squad to victory in the Japan Cup, its third tournament title of the year. Two years earlier, his leadership helped propel the U.S. to a perfect 9-0 record and the gold medal in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Candrea will coach Team USA during the 2008 Beijing games as well.

The only year Arizona was absent from the WCWS, Candrea was at the helm of USA Softball’s barnstorming tour that preceded its gold medal showing in Athens. He was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1996, and since that time his teams have a record of 635-84.

The Distinguished Service Award is given annually to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to national or international sports through instruction, research or service. The award has been presented by the Academy since 1984. Past honorees include Don Shula, Martina Navratilova, Pat Summitt, Eddie Robinson, George Steinbrenner and Bud Selig.

Candrea received the Academy’s Order of the Eagle Exemplar medal and Academy Rosette. The Order of the Eagle Exemplar medallion was designed by the Academy’s Sport Artist of the Year 1990, Blair Buswell. The Academy Rosette is modeled after the Legion of Honor instituted by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802. A rosette is a symbol of recognition and affiliation.

The United States Sports Academy is an independent, non-profit, accredited, special mission sports university created to serve the nation and the world with programs in instruction, research and service. The role of the Academy is to prepare men and women for careers in the profession of sports.

Team USA opens Beijing Olympic play against Venezuela on August 12 at 10 p.m. Tucson time.

Q & A With Olympian Laura Berg

FRESNO, Calif. – With just four days until the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, former Bulldog softball player and four-time All-American Laura Berg sat down with www.gobulldogs.com for a Q&A.

Berg is the only four-time Olympian in the sport of softball and is looking to guide Team USA to its fourth gold medal. She was the starting center fielder the previous three Olympics and scored the first run of the championship game in 1996 and had the game-winning hit against Japan in the 2000 games. Berg has been a member of the U.S. National Team since 1994 when she was attending Fresno State.

In her four years at Fresno State, Berg was a crucial member of the 1998 National Championship, the first in school history. She was also a four-time All-WAC honoree, three-time NCAA WCWS participant, two-time Fresno State MVP and is ranked in amongst the top in numerous school, conference and NCAA categories.

1. How does it feel to be heading to your fourth Olympic games? I feel very lucky and fortunate to be going to the Olympic Games.

2. What does it mean for you to represent team USA? It’s an honor to represent USA. Anytime I have USA across my chest I feel a sense of pride. I feel very blessed to have this opportunity.

3. Being the only four-time softball Olympian what does the experience and leadership you bring mean to team USA and the softball world? It just means that the young players can tease me by calling me Grandma.

4. Out of the three Olympics you’ve participated in, which one is the most memorable and why? Each Olympics has been very different. It’s hard to pick a favorite. Atlanta was the first time softball was in the Olympics and it was in front of our home crowd. Sydney we had our backs against the wall and had to fight our way to the gold medal. Athens was special because of how dominate we were and because it was the birth place of the Olympics.

5. What was the most memorable moment on the tour this year for you? When we were given a ride in a black hawk helicopter and got an up close and personal view of Mt. Rushmore.

6. What can fans except from Team USA in these Olympics? The fans can expect a dog fight. Everyone wants to win gold since it’s the last time softball will be in the Olympics. Everyone wants to have what we’ve got and will fight like heck to get it.

7. We have heard you are the jokester on the team, what do you think is the best prank you have played on a teammate? A pie in the face to Lauren Lappin during a mock interview.

8. Who are the greatest softball players you have ever played with and against? Lisa Fernandez, Dot Richardson and Crystl Bustos.

9. You have done a lot of traveling with Team USA, but name one place in the world that you have never been that you wish the team would travel to play? Germany.

Q&A with U.S. Olympian Cat Osterman

The most decorated player in the history of Texas Softball, Cat Osterman is already a 2004 Olympic gold medalist, a four-time All-American and a three-time USA Softball National Player of the Year. However, her trophy case won’t quite be complete without another gold medal from the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. As Osterman and her Team USA teammates prepare for a run at the team’s fourth straight gold medal, she stopped by the Forty Acres and checked in with TexasSports.com to give her thoughts on the Games, softball’s Olympic swan song and life after graduation. … Continue Reading

USA Begins Journey for 4th Consecutive Olympic Gold

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – With years of preparation behind them, the USA Softball Women’s National team is ready for battle as they embark on their journey to China for the 2008 Olympic Games as they arrive in San Jose for Olympic team processing on Saturday. The most successful softball team in the World, the team heads to China on Mon., with a target on their back as they look to defend their fourth-consecutive Olympic Gold Medal.

The team recently wrapped up the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour with a 59-1 record, traveling from Arizona to Florida to South Dakota in preparation for the Olympics. The exhibition games drew an average of 3,000 fans per game while offensively the U.S. put up 11 runs per game. Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) was the leader for the team in almost all offensive categories. She hit .495 with a team high 102 hits while scoring 89 runs. She was the only player on the team to surpass 100 RBI with 107 and also holds a team high 25 doubles during the tour. Fan favorite Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) bolted a team-high 28 home runs for a second-best 93 RBI. Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.), who came through with some clutch hits during the tour, drew a team high 49 walks while speedy Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) snagged a team-high 23 stolen bases only being caught once.

From the circle Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) led the team with 19 wins while also suffering the only loss for the tour, when the team was no-hit by Virginia Tech on March 28. She made appearances in more than half of the games during the tour with 31 while make a team-tying best 17 starts. She worked 118.2 innings followed closely by Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) with 115.1.The lefty hurled a team-high 247 strikeouts in 28 appearances for a 15-0 record. Rounding out the pitching staff is Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) who started 17 games with 26 appearances while allowing 10 earned runs with 218 strikeouts. The three pitchers combined to hold opponents to a 0.47 average while their offense hit at a .432 clip.

“One thing about this team is that the chemistry is really strong. They have come together quite well. They did a phenomenal job during the tour staying strong and they have a great mindset heading into the Games,” said Head Coach Mike Candrea. “A lot of our team has a very positive database from the 2004 Games where we dominated, but there are also those who have the memory of the 2000 Games where we played with our backs against the wall. We have to prepare for both of those situations. We have done all we can and now we just need to get over there and start playing.”

Now with the Tour behind them, the team will open up with Venezuela on Aug.12th at noon/local time. Ten players will look to earn another gold medal while five members of the team will look for their first. Abbott, Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.), Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.), Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) and Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) will all enter the Olympic arena for their first-time while veteran Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) will look to make history with her fourth consecutive gold medal. At the 2004 Olympic Games, the USA dominated with a 9-0 record, allowing only one run while breaking 18 individual and team records. However the road to a Gold Medal has not always been golden. In 2000, the team suffered three losses before going eight innings for a 2-1 victory against Japan in the Gold Medal game. They battled through five extra-inning games before taking home their second Gold Medal.

All of the seven round robin games and playoff games will be televised through the NBC Family of networks as well as http://www.nbcolympics.com/.

KFC Bound 4 Beijing Ratings

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) has announced the ratings for the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour which aired on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU and combined for 59 different airings with over 120 hours of softball programming across all three networks.

Throughout the 60 games, beginning in Tucson, Ariz., and wrapping up in Irvine, the team has played in front of over 200,00 people in 45 cities. In front of amazing crowds and supportive fans, the team kicked off competition Feb. 19 and experienced a diverse amount of USA hospitality. The team surpassed many records during this tour including setting a Tour record attendance of 8,724 in Bowie, Md. It was the largest crowd in pre-Olympic Tour and was just shy of the all-time attendance record; at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games as 8,750 people were in attendance at the gold medal game as the U.S. defeated China 3-1 for their first Olympic Gold.

The ratings for the eight original games that aired on ESPN averaged a 0.55 national rating while the 11 original airings on ESPN2 averaged a 0.28. In total, over 10 million households tuned to watch the KFC Bound 4 Beijing US Tour featuring the USA Softball Women’s National Team on their way to the 2008 Olympic Beijing Olympic Games.

In addition, ESPN International picked up several broadcasts airing them in Canada, Africa and Asia furthering softballs global presence in the international sports landscape.

Now with travel to China about a week out, the team looks back on the past six months with fond memories but are now ready to go over to China and defend their three-gold Medals.

“ESPN’s coverage and support of USA Softball has been a major factor to our success during this Tour,” said Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.). “I don’t even know how many times we have been stopped when we were eating, at the mall or even in our autograph lines and people say ‘We’ve been watching you on T.V’. It’s great to see that the whole nation can watch us and not just those that are able to attend the games. Everything about the Tour has been great and we owe a big thanks to our partnership with the ESPN family.

USA Softball Closes Out Tour with 6-2 Win Over Team Intensity

IRVINE, Calif. – The KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour came to an end tonight in Irvine, Calif., in front of 2,447 fans chanting USA as the USA Softball Women’s National team beat Team Intensity. It was a perfect way to close out the Tour after spending the past months in unfamiliar territory as the majority of the team returned to their home state and played in a stadium full of friends and family.

Throughout the 60 games, beginning in Tucson, Ariz., and wrapping up in Irvine, the team has played in front of over 200,00 people in 45 cities . In front of amazing crowds and supportive fans, the team kicked off competition Feb. 19 and experienced a diverse amount of USA hospitality. Now with travel to China about a week out, the team looks back on the past six months with fond memories but are now ready to go over to China and defend their three-gold Medals.

“Tonight is bittersweet for us. These past few months have been exhausting but also so amazing to see so much passion for the sport. Although it’s sad to see it end, we are so ready to go over and bring home our fourth gold medal,” said Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.). “The best way I can describe it is we are going to bottle up all the places we’ve been, the fans we’ve seen and take them over to China. We are going to represent them and know they are at home supporting us.”

The team jumped on the board with two runs in the bottom of the second with Irvine native Natasha Watley making her hometown proud leading off with a single to left field. Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) reached on an error by the third baseman to put two runners on. A strikeout by Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) and a sac hit by Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) looked to end the inning but a two-RBI single by Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.) gave the team a 2-0 lead.

After allowing a single in the first starter Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) issued a walk to catcher Jen Schroeder in the second. Katie Gollhardt would reach when she was hit by a pitch which brought Head Coach Mike Candrea (Tucson, Ariz.) out of the dugout on grounds that Gollhardt leaned in. The ruling stayed leaving two runners on. Amanda Kamekona cleared the bases with a single down the middle. Lovie Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.) made the throw to Flowers but it was not enough, pulling Flowers a little off base and allowing two runs to score and tie up the game.

Kretschman, who during the Tour has been nicknamed “Clutchman”, proved it was a warranted title with a shot to right field to take the lead back to a USA advantage 3-2.

The United States put the game away in the fourth going on a two-out rally to put three more runs on the board. Lowe got it started with a double to centerfield, scoring off a Mendoza triple. Mendoza closes the Tour with a team-high 107 RBI and was second on the team with five triples. The tour leader in homeruns closed out her last at bat of the tour in typical fashion as Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) rocked her 28th homerun of the season for two RBI.

Finch closed out the Tour with a win and nine strikeouts, giving up two earned runs. She finished with a team high 19-1 record.

Mendoza was the team leader with 107 RBI hitting .495 (102-for-206).She lead the team in doubles and hits while starting in 59 of 60 games. Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) had a team-high 247 strikeouts while allowing 37 hits. Finch worked a team-high 118.2 innings with 11 complete games.

“The dress rehearsal is done and now we’re even more focused on the Olympics,” said Head Coach Mike Candrea. “We had a great tour this year with some of the best stops till ‘96. The local hosts held some great events and the communities really supported softball and that’s great to see. Now we are on to why we are here, to bring home a gold medal.”

USA Softball offense powers past Salem All Stars 9-0

SALEM, Va. — With just one game left on the KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour schedule, the USA Softball Women’s National team added another victory to the win column with a 9-0 win on Thursday night against the Salem All Stars. At 58-1, the U.S. scored in four of the seven innings with RBI duo Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) and Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) leading the way both having 3-for-4 outings accounting for a total of seven RBI.

It’s the final countdown for Team USA as they will fly from the east coast to west coast on Friday afternoon for the final game of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour on Saturday evening. The 60th contest, the U.S. will square off against Team Intensity at a sold out Bill Barber Park on at 7:30 p.m./PST.

“Tonight was a special night for me because it really all sank in,” said Mendoza. “It’s such a bittersweet feeling. I am sad the tour is over because the fans across America have been outstanding, but I am so excited because the journey awaits for us in China.”

Left-handed winning pitcher Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) improved to 15-0 on the tour as she controlled the game with 15 strikeouts allowing just two hits and one walk.

“We are about a week away from leaving so tonight was a good test as always,” said Osterman. “We have to treat every pitch and at bat like the game is scoreless and we need to come out on top and get the clutch hit or out.”

With 4,126 in attendance, the U.S. jumped ahead early with a 2-0 lead through the first inning. Lead off hitter Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) legged out her sixth triple of the tour after she rocketed her third pitch to right field. An RBI fielder’s choice from Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) plated Watley for the first run of the game. Lowe then stole her 15th base of the tour sliding safe into second base before Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) drove her home with a high–flying RBI single to right field.

Two more runs gave the U.S. a 4-0 advantage after the bottom of the second. Four-time Olympic Gold Medalist Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) led the inning with a base hit bunt to the pitcher and later became the first out of the inning on a fielders choice from Lowe. RBI leader Mendoza, whose hitting .500, then roped her fourth triple of the tour as Lowe cruised across home plate. The second run of the inning was produced when Bustos put a single to right field notching her 89th RBI of the tour.

The pitching change of Salem’s Cari Woolridge proved positive in the bottom of the third as she held the U.S. bat to zero runs.

But that didn’t last long as the U.S. bats responded in the fourth inning recorded three runs on a single and two home runs. Watley hit a ground ball to the Salem shortstop and hustled to first for her second hit of the contest. Mendoza then sent the crowd to its feet with a towering two-run home run to centerfield marking her 21st home run of the tour. The power just kept on coming as Bustos belted her 27th home run with a solo shot to left field for the 7-0 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, the U.S. scored two runs thanks again to Mendoza and Bustos marking the eventual 9-0 win. They both connected on doubles and through 59 games they have combined for 197 RBI on the tour. Watley went 2-for-4 on the night.

On August 4th, the U.S. will depart for China for a week of practice for its first game on August 12 at noon Local against Venezuela.

The USA Softball Women’s National team will begin competition on August 12 on CNBC

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The LIVE television schedule for the 2008 Olympic Softball competition was recently announced by NBC. The USA Softball Women’s National team will begin competition on August 12 on CNBC at midnight/ET as the 32-game slate spans from August 12-21 at the Fengtai Softball Field in Beijing, China.

The three-time defending Olympic Gold Medal winning team will look to defend its title by playing seven round robin games before looking to advance to the playoffs on August 20 and the grand final on August 21. Six of the seven round robin games for the U.S. will be brought to the U.S. LIVE from CNBC. On August 17, they will play the Netherlands at 7:30 p.m. local time and that will be LIVE on MSNBC. See below for complete schedule.

** PLEASE KNOW ALL TIMES AND NETWORKS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. **

USA Television Schedule for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games
NOTE: Beijing, China is 12 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

Tuesday, August 12

USA vs. Venezuela – Noon Local – (Midnight EST) – CNBC & CNBC HD

Wednesday, August 13

USA vs. Australia – Noon Local – (Midnight EST) – CNBC & CNBC HD

Thursday, August 14

USA vs. Canada – Noon Local – (Midnight EST) – CNBC & CNBC HD

Friday, August 15

USA vs. Japan – Noon Local – (Midnight EST) – CNBC & CNBC HD

Saturday, August 16

USA vs. Chinese Taipei – Noon Local – (Midnight EST) – CNBC & CNBC HD

Sunday, August 17

USA vs. Netherlands – 7:30 p.m. Local – (7:30 a.m. EST) – MSNBC

Monday, August 18

USA vs. China – Noon Local – (Midnight EST) – CNBC & CNBC HD

Tuesday, August 19 – OFF DAY

Wednesday, August 20 – Playoffs

GM1: Seed 1 vs. Seed 2 – 9:30 a.m. Local – (9:30 p.m. EST) – CNBC & CNBC HD

GM2: Seed 3 vs. Seed 4 – Noon Local – (Midnight EST) – CNBC & CNBC HD

GM3: Loser of GM1 vs. Winner of GM2 – 5 p.m. Local (5 a.m. EST) – MSNBC & MSNBC HD

Thursday, August 21 – Grand Final Game – 6:30 p.m. – (6:30 a.m. EST) – USA & USA HD

U.S. uses seventh inning heroics to defeat Akron 6-2

AKRON, Ohio — It was a come from behind effort for Team USA on Tuesday night as they defeated the NPF Akron Racers 6-2 with a seventh-inning victory. Tied at 2-2, Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Springs, Fla.) drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh before Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) belted a three-run blast to left field for the eventual victory. The home run marked her 23rd of the tour as the U.S. moved to 57-1 in KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour action.

“Well when I was in the on deck circle, I was confident Kelly would get the RBI to take the lead,” said Duran. “So my thoughts were that it was my job to break open the game and give us some insurance runs heading into the bottom of the seventh.”

Winning pitcher Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) (16-0) gave up two earned runs in the first inning but settled down tossing the complete game victory recording 10 strikeouts.

The third largest tour attendance at 6,256, the start of the game was a re-match between Akron’s Angela Tincher (Virginia Tech) who was responsible for Team USA’s only loss on the tour dating back to March 26 in Oklahoma City. The Virginia Tech alum made history with a no-hit 1-0 victory against Team USA breaking a 185-game pre-Olympic tour win streak for the U.S.

The Racers were the first to put runs on the board right away in the first inning taking a 2-0 advantage. The U.S. had not allowed a run in 15 contests dating back to June 7 in the 9-5 victory against Olympic opponent Canada. A lead off base hit through the left side from Veronica Wootson jumped start the Racers and the hometown crowd. The first out was recorded with a pop up from Norrelle Dickson before Wootson stole second advancing into scoring position. It was then Racer home run leader Kristen Butler who belted a 1-1 pitch over the left field fences giving the Racers an early 2-0 advantage.

Tincher held the U.S. offense through two innings before catcher Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) roped a base hit to centerfield in the third and advanced all the way to third base after a fielding error from Racer centerfielder Kim Hamilton. Bringing Lovie Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.) to the plate, a ground ball to the shortstop forced a play at the plate were Lappin slid in and was called for the innings first out. The U.S. kept pushing when Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) earned a walk putting runners at first and second before Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) chopped a base hit to the right side scoring Jung for the 2-1 difference. But one run was all the U.S. would get as back-to-back strikeouts to Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) and Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) ended the top half of the third.

Akron threatened to score in the bottom of the third inning as Wootson, who reached after being hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a fielder’s choice and third on a stolen base. Bringing Butler back up to the plate, Abbott was solid retiring the final two batters via strikeout to end the threat.

New Racer pitcher Angel Shamblin entered in the top of the fourth inning as Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) quickly earned a base on balls before pinch runner Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.) entered the game. A sacrifice bunt from Kretschman advanced Galindo to second as Duran took a pitch off her side and was awarded first base. But the U.S. would leave the inning empty handed as a force out and foul out closed the inning with Akron ahead 2-1.

RBI leader Mendoza tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the fifth inning with a RBI line drive base hit to right field scoring Flowers who was hit by a Shamblin pitch. Flowers previously advanced into scoring position with a groundout from Lowe.

As Abbott continued to hold the Racer bats, the U.S. had an opportunity to take the lead in the top of the fifth with bases loaded. Shamblin issued a walk to Kretschman to lead the inning before Akron brought in relief pitcher Radara McHugh. Duran grounded out to third base moving Kretschman into scoring position before Lappin laid down a base hit bunt to put runners on the corners with one out. Jung then fouled out to the second baseman and Flowers popped up in what looked like the third out, but a catcher’s interference call kept Team USA alive with bases loaded. Watley, who recorded the first RBI of the game, then came up to the plate looking to tie the game, but a ground out to the shortstop left the runners stranded.

It then came down the top of the seventh inning for Team USA and the bats of Kretschman and Duran sealed the victory. An infield single and stolen base from Lowe started the momentum before Kretschman put a single up the middle cruising Lowe to home plate. With intentions to open the game, Duran certainly did sending a two-run blast to left field to push the lead to 6-2. Mendoza, who reached on a walk, and Kretschman scored on the homer.

The top of the seventh inning saw a three minute rain delay as showers quickly moved in and out.

India Chiles started the inning as a pinch hitter for the Racers and connected on a base hit, but Abbott held strong striking out the side to capture the victory.

With just two games left on the schedule, the U.S. will travel to Salem, Virginia on Wednesday before a match-up against the Salem All Stars on Thursday at 7 p.m. The U.S. will close out the KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour on Saturday night in Irvine, Calif. against Team Intensity with a game at 7:30 p.m. at Bill Barber Park.

Finch, Duran and Lowe enjoy day at the White House; Present President Bush with authentic jersey

AKRON, Ohio. — July 21, 2008 was a memorable day for three members of the USA Softball Women’s National team as they were invited to a day at the White House with President George Bush, the First Lady and members of the White House staff. Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.), Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) and Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) were invited to an official send off from the President and First Lady to the United States Olympic Committee and the U.S. athletes who will be representing the Red, White and Blue in Beijing, China.

“It was such an incredible experience,” said Finch. “I was honored to be at the White House with all the other athletes and we were welcomed with open arms. The President was so nice and to think that I had the chance to eat dinner sitting right next to him was just crazy. He said was looking forward to coming to one of our games in China.”

“It was great to be there and feel so comfortable,” said Duran. “It was an honor to be one of the few Olympians to be selected to go to this event. It was a pinch-yourself experience to look down and see the White Housechina and Jennie sitting next to the president eating dinner. I was moved by the history of the White House and realizing all the people that have walked the halls I was standing in.”

The day started with a 10 a.m. greeting by the President in the Rose Garden. Members of the Olympic team were greeted with a couple remarks by the President before USA Softball’s Finch presented him with an authentic softball jersey with ‘Bush 08’ embroidered on the back. (see attached photo)

Log on to http://www.softballoutlet.com/ where replica NIKE Olympic jerseys are now on sale.

The athletes then had the honor of taking photos with the President in the Oval Office before returning at 6 p.m. for a four-course dinner that was topped off with an Olympic sugar flame chocolate dessert.

“It was amazing experience,” said Lowe. “President Bush and the First Lady are so down to earth and it was wonderful that they welcomed us into their home. The dinner was fabulous. We got to sit by the likes of Senators and previous medal winning Olympians; Wow, I still can’t believe that yesterday I was at the White House.”

The athletes returned to Akron, Ohio where tonight they will battle the NPF Akron Racers at 7 p.m. EST.

Mendoza reaches 100 RBI as Finch tosses one-hitter against Stratford Brakettes

STRATFORD, Conn. — The USA Women’s National team sealed their 56th KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour victory on Sunday evening against the Stratford Brakettes with a 9-0 shutout in a scheduled nine innings. The swing of three-hole hitter Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) gave the U.S. the advantage as she tallied her 100th and 101st tour RBI in the bottom of the third inning with a two-run home run to take the lead.

Starting pitcher Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) tossed a no-hitter to the 3,300 fans through seven innings before giving up the lone Brakette hit in the bottom of the eighth inning when Laura Trout (Spartanburg Methodist) poked a base hit through the left side. Finch was outstanding with 13 strikeouts as she improved to 18-1.

The only other base runner to reach for the Brakettes was Mandie Fishback (Florida Atlantic) who earned a walk in the bottom of the first inning.

“Tonight things were really working well for us,” said Finch. “Nuvey (Stacey Nuveman) really called a great game behind the plate and we were keeping hitters off balance. Overall it was a good outing for our entire team as we move closer to Beijing.”

Mendoza finished the night going 4-for-5 with two RBI and four runs scored while former Brakette Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Springs, Fla.) was 3-for-5 with one RBI. Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) and Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) also knocked in two RBI each as the U.S. used 16 hits to win the contest.

Brakette starting pitcher Leslie Malerich (Florida State alumni) tossed the first two innings holding Team USA to just three hits from Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.), Kretschman and Duran.

Finch continued to work the home team striking out the side in the second inning before the U.S. took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning off Brakette pitcher Brandic Balschmiter (Massachusetts). With Lowe on board who reached on a walk, Mendoza recorded RBI No. 100 and 101 with a first pitch homer to centerfield field almost clearing the 300 ft slow pitch fences. Hitting a .497, the leftfielder now has 20 home runs on the tour and has hit safely in 46 of 57 games.

Finch continued to control the Brakette offense as Kretschman roped in an RBI single in the top of the fifth inning to push the lead to 3-0. Her third hit of the contest, the right fielder drove a two-out 1-2 pitch through the left side scoring Mendoza who reached on a single earlier in the inning.

The Red, White and Blue manufactured another run in the top of the fifth inning thanks to Lowe and Mendoza singles to start the inning. A fielders choice from Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) forced Lowe out at third before Mendoza crossed home plate on a Kretschman RBI single.

The U.S. put the game out of reach in the top of the ninth inning scoring five insurance runs off Brackette pitcher Rachele Fico (Masuk High School). Leading the inning was the bat of Mendoza who legged out a triple to left center. Pinch hitter Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) sent Mendoza just 60 feet with an RBI single for the first run of the inning. Kretschman then reached on an error while Duran connected on an RBI fielders choice plating Lappin. Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) then drove in her 38th RBI of the tour before the Flowers home run, her second in as many games, put the final two runs on board for the eventual 9-0 win.

Up next, the U.S. will meet back up with a National Pro Fastpitch opponent in the Akron Racers on Tuesday evening in Akron, Ohio at 7 p.m. Currently Akron is 14-14 in the NPF.

Osterman records 17 strikeouts in 15-0 defeat of Midwest College All Stars

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. —The USA Women’s National team added another victory along the KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour on Friday evening as they thumped the Midwest College All Stars 15-0 at Meador Park in front of 3,012 fans.

A 15-minute lighting delay halted the start of the game to 7:45 p.m. as the clouds brought in light rain showers during line-up introductions. The rain cleared at the start of the game as the U.S. moved on to win and improve to 55-1 on the tour.

South paw Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas)was remarkable tossing seven innings recording 17 strikeouts as she moved to a perfect 14-0 in tour action.

“I not only felt in control tonight with my pitches, but with my mental game,” said Osterman. “(Lauren) Lappin and I have really been working on taking steps forward and remaining positive throughout the game. I am really feeling right on course for the Olympics and am ready to go.”

From the plate, the U.S. used 18 hits to score 15 runs with 11 players tallying at least one hit. Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) and Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) led the way with three hits a piece while the long ball was ever so present as Mendoza, Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Springs, Fla.), Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) and Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) each added home runs to the stat sheet. Mendoza added four RBI on the night and Duran contributed three.

“Right now I feel like we are doing a good job and keeping a good mindset no matter the score,” said head coach Mike Candrea. “I was pleased with the team’s outing today and as we move closer to August we will continue to work on all aspects of our game.”

The U.S. opened the bottom of the first inning taking a 4-0 lead thanks to four RBI hits. Shortstop Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) used her wheels to earn an infield base hit before stealing second base advancing into scoring position. A flyout from Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) put an out on the board before RBI leader Mendoza roped her 23rd double of the tour scoring Watley for the first run. Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) earned a walk before a sacrifice flyout from designated player Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) plated Lowe for the second run of the inning. Duran then doubled scoring Bustos before Lappin drove in the final run of the inning with a single to left field.

As Osterman continued to dominate the All Stars, the U.S. added seven more runs in the bottom of the second inning. The first two runs came off a Lowe double before Mendoza stroked her second double of the night scoring Lowe and Watley. Nuveman then inked her second RBI of the night with a single through the right side before Duran notched her 22nd home run of the tour with a two-run dinger. Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.) was responsible for the seventh run of the inning with a base hit to left field scoring Lappin who reached on a double.

The All Star bats came alive in the top of the third inning as Stephanie Ramsey (Bradley University) connected on a one-out hit through the left side. Ramsey moved into scoring position when leftfielder Katie McGeeney (Wichita State) roped a line drive off the glove of Osterman for the second hit of the game. Osterman settled down striking out the final batter for her seventh strikeout of the game.

A solo home run from Mendoza, her 23rd of the tour, was the lone run for the U.S. in the bottom of the third inning.

The All Stars were able to hold the U.S. to zero runs in the fourth before three runs off of home runs in the fifth posted a eventual 15-0 lead. Pinch hitter Kretschman blasted the long ball to left center for her ninth homer of the tour to start the inning. Two more runs were added thanks to a Flowers towering home run to centerfield, her ninth of the tour.

Osterman retired the side via strikeout on three occasions as the All Stars connected on just two hits in the game.

The U.S. will pack its bags to fly east on Saturday afternoon as they head to the home of the Stratford Brakettes for competition Sunday evening at 7 p.m. EST. The U.S. has just four tour games remaining before heading to Beijing on August 4.

USA Softball Back in action after touring Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse

SPRINGFIELD, MO. — After a couple days of site seeing from Oregon to South Dakota, the USA Softball Women’s National team (54-1) is back in action tonight in Springfield, Missouri against theAll Stars in their 56th game of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour. The 41st city on the tour, the U.S. will take the field at 7:30 p.m. as the final stretch of the tour comes to a close.

It’s not just softball as the three-time Olympic Gold Medal winning team had the opportunity to experience some of the remarkable U.S. countryside during their time in the Northwest last week.

A trip through Yellowstone Park started the site seeing before a welcome in Rapid City, South Dakota with Blackhawks and a tour of Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse made for some team bonding and great photos (see attached.)

Below is a blog from outfield Jessica Mendoza ( Camarillo, Calif.) of the team’s adventure during the last week.

July 13, 2008

This tour has been crazy with all of the places we have been and all of the traveling we have been doing. But one of the coolest parts about the tour has been the opportunity for all of us, these 16women that representthis beautifulcountry, to see what makes up the letters U-S-A that we wear across our chest every day. We have traveled from Louisiana to Missouri, from Ohio to Texas, Florida to New Mexico, just to name a few of the many states we have traveled across. But most recently we made the trek from Portland, Oregon to Spokane, Washington and then headed to beautiful Yellowstone National Park this last Friday. Most of us have never been, and what a beautiful, pristine,take-your-breath-awaykind ofbeauty. Yes, most of our travels contain softball fields and a variety of hotels, but in this case, we stayed in small little cabins at the edge of 2.2 million (yes it is huge!) acres of some of the most beautiful land our country has tooffer.

Wegot up early and spent our entire Saturday touring the beautiful landscape. We saw everything from Old Faithful to Lower Falls to the enormous Yellowstone Lake.The animals we saw ranged from ababy black bear to elk and even a giant buffalo (see photo). Coach Candrea wanted to see a big black bear, but from the stories we heard, it is probably better that we only saw the baby bear, not the mamma.

I love to travel the world, but it is amazing how extraordinary our own country is … and what better time to appreciate than those who will be representing it in less than a month (I know, so soon!) away? It has been a perfect intermission between all the training and preparation we are doing for the Olympics right now. We then traveled to Cody, Wyoming where we saw even more breathtaking landscapes, and Alicia, Bustos and I even caught ourselves a real rodeo at the rodeo capital of the world in Cody. Quite a different show then what we see out on the softball fields, but very fun and entertaining nonetheless!

Tomorrow it is back to the practice fields here in Rapid City, South Dakota and then we get to spend the afternoon getting a helicopter tour of Mt. Rushmore — more stories andphotos to come!!

July 17, 2008

Well, if we thought seeing Yellowstone National Park was a nice taste of the beauty of our country, we hit a whole new level this last Monday in South Dakota. We made the trip from Cody, Wyoming to Rapid City, South Dakota the day before … seeing breathtaking views of the landscape along the way. Then after a long practice and a good weight workout (we are in training after all) we headed out to see one of our nation’s beautiful creations: Mt. Rushmore. But of course we could not see it any normal way; we were able to visit the men and women at the US Air Force Base and the National Guard gave us a special tour of Mt. Rushmore – by Blackhawk helicopter!

If you can try and imagine all 16 of us split into two Blackhawk helicopters, flying through the skies of South Dakota … just the power and beauty of the helicopters took our breath away, let alone what was right out the window as we looked and snapped photos of Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse! Then the pilots decided to have some fun with us (I may or may not have asked our pilot to have some fun with us…) and we quickly made sharp accelerations up and then immediate drops that sent all of us out of our seats (we had very heavy-duty seat belts on that kept us from flying to the ceiling). It was hilarious to see the reactions and facial expressions of my teammates as we dropped and turned, riding an imaginary roller coaster like nothing you will see at an amusement park. From Lauren Lappin, Caitlin Lowe and Stacey Nuveman who were cheering and hollering, to Natasha Watley who was screaming for her life, it was an exciting and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to say the least! We then landed at Mt. Rushmore to a good deal of onlookers and spent some time taking funny photos in front of the heads of four of our greatest Presidents.

One would think this would be enough for one day … but no, not for USA softball! Next we were off to Crazy Horse: another amazing still-in-the-making creation of the famous American Indian who defeated Colonel Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn, pointing ahead with his finger on his horse. To give you an idea of the massiveness of this sculpture that is being dynamited and sculpted into the middle of one the mountains not too far from Rushmore: the head alone of Crazy Horse is the size of all four presidents that make up Mt. Rushmore. When we arrived, we were allowed to go up the mountain (which we were told was a rare opportunity) and stand right under the enormous head of Crazy Horse. It was amazing and we were so grateful to have the chance to stand so close to such a remarkable monument and see some unique history in-the-making. We joked about having a 50-year softball reunion there to see its completion… who knows! After a beautiful dinner overlooking the sunset at Crazy Horse we finally headed back to our hotel, and back to reality.

We only have five more games on tour and 17 days until we leave for Beijing — I am SO EXCITED! We are so blessed to be around not only the beautiful sites of our country, but the beautiful people who have gone above and beyond to make this tour so special … a special thank you to all those we have met at every tour site who have made these last five months an experience we will take with us to Beijing! We love you all!

Jessica Mendoza #2

Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) extends her Tour win streak to 15-0 with 17 strikeout performance.

RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Rapid City All-Stars put up a good fight against the USA Softball Women’s National team but it was not enough as the USA shut out Rapid City Gold, 7-0, tonight as part of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour. Pitcher Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) was solid in the circle with a no-hit performance with Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) hitting her 21st long ball of the Tour.

The team put one on the board in the first off a single to center field by Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) to score Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) who took advantage of a blooper down the left field line for a double. However, Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) hit into a double play to shut down the inning.

In the second inning, Allison Rutherford hit a single over the head of shortstop Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) but would not score as starting pitcher Abbott made the third out at first base.

The Rapid City All-Stars stifled the explosive bats of the U.S. holding the team scoreless through the second and third inning, allowing only three hits while stranding three runners on all in scoring position.

Duran gave the team an insurance run with a solo homerun over the center field fence to edge the lead to 2-0 in the fourth inning. In the fifth, two hits combined with two errors were enough to give the home team a 4-0 lead. Watley singled and would score, after Lowe singled and two errors were made in the field. A sac fly by Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) allowed Lowe to score for the 4-0 advantage.

Abbott kept the bases clear from South Dakota base runners with six straight strikeouts before Tara Bendt would reach on an error by third baseman Duran. However Abbott’s 12th strikeout of the game left Bendt stranded.

The game went extra innings again with the team taking a final 7-0 lead in the seventh. For the second consecutive game, Team USA notched an inside the park homerun off a hard hit ball by Mendoza. Mendoza roped a ball to left field and would get past the left fielder who dove for the ball to plate two runs, scoring Lowe who singled. Duran drew the first walk of the game and would later score on a passed ball.

With this win, Abbott is at 15-0 on the season. She worked 8.0 innings with 17 strikeouts, allowing one hit.

USA vs. Lady Hearts on ESPN2 at 1:00 p.m./CST

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – ESPN2 is airing the gamebetween the USA Softball Women’s National Team and Team NPF Saturday at 1:00 p.m./CST as part of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour. The remaining TV games airing as part of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour are listed below:

Date Time/CST Matchup Network

Saturday, July 12 1:00 p.m. USA @ Lady Hearts ESPN2

Sunday, July 13 Noon USA @ Team NPF ESPN

USA Softball Handles Spokane All-Stars 31-0

SPOKANE, Wash. – The USA Softball team combined for 35 hits en route to a 31-0 win over Spokane All-Stars record tonight in nine innings to extend their KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour record to 53-1. The team hit a Tour best eight home runs with 14 of 31 runs being scored by the top of the lineup with Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) leading the way with five runs scored.

Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) hit her 25th homerun of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour to give the team an early 3-0 lead. Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) and Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) scored on the play after Lowe singled and Mendoza walked.

Houston native Cat Osterman, in her 14th start of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour retired the first three batters before Spokane All-Star Katie Kline led off the second inning with a ground rule double but Osterman allowed no one else to reach retiring the next three batters swinging.

After scoring one in the second off an RBI single by Mendoza the team was held scoreless in the third. Lowe broke the drought with a homerun, but unlike Bustos’, this one would stay in the park as Lowe hit it down the right field line and used her speed to make it around in the fourth inning. The next hit for the team would be another homerun by Bustos to centerfield for two-RBI, plating Mendoza who walked, for an 8-0 lead. Duran followed with a tweener between third base and shortstop for a single before Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) ripped a bomb to left field for the third homerun of the inning for the Red, White and Blue. Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.) and Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) both hit safely ensuring that every player in the USA lineup would get a hit. Watley rounded out the offensive juggernaut with a single down the middle to give Galindo a run and the team a 11-0 lead.

“Tonight was a good night to better prepare us for those games that could go long at the Olympics,” said Lowe who will be making her first appearance at the Olympics. “It’s nice to see us continuing to get good at bats in and to see our pitchers be successful. There’s definitely an excitement in the air with the Games around the corner so we are just continuing to prepare.”

Osterman was stellar in the circle with 11 straight strikeouts from innings three through six.

The team took advantage, scoring two runs, when Flowers reached on an error by shortstop in the fifth inning before not scoring in the sixth. It was sevens all around with the team scoring seven runs in the seventh off seven hits. Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) took her first pitch of her first at bat for a homerun to centerfield and was followed up with a homerun by Duran. With bases loaded Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) hit a double to right centerfield with Galindo and catcher Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) scoring. A sac fly by Lowe and a two-RBI single by Duran rounded out the inning giving the team a 20-0 lead.

For the second straight game, the team went extra innings to prepare for extra inning games at the Olympics and there was no turning back for the team scoring 11 runs off 11 hits in the eighth. Highlighting the inning was a grand slam by Watley and a three-RBI homerun by Mendoza, who both went 2-for-2 in the eighth along with Lappin and Berg.

Osterman is now 14-0 and with her 22 strikeouts tonight surpassed the 200 mark with 215 strikeouts. She allowed three hits on the night, facing 28 batters.

U.S. Flag Flown in Iraq in honor of USA Softball Women’s National team

OKLAHOMA CITY–The USA Softball Women’s National Team, which is seeking a fourth-consecutive gold medal next month in the Beijing Olympic Games, has fans worldwide.

One of them, Lt. Col. Clark D. Easter, HHC, 39 IBCT, recently had the U.S. flag flown over the Headquarters, Multi-National Corps-Iraq in honor of the team. The headquarters is located at Al Faw Palace, just west of Baghdad, Iraq.

The flag was then sent to the ASA National Office in Oklahoma City and arrived on June 30.

“I am pleased to have had this flag flown in your honor(U.S. National Team) for I know that my three daughters will be watching with a high degree of interest when you play,” wrote Colonel Easter in the letter accompanying the flag. “We have been to all of the games of the last two years of the World Cup of Softball and have enjoyed it immensely. My daughters are 13, 14 and 19.”

Although Christine, 19, no longer plays softball, 14-year-old Roxanne assists and is a scorekeeper for a fast pitch league, and 13-year-old Tiffany plays competitive fast pitch on a traveling team and plans to play college softball. Colonel Easter, who lives in Arkadelphia, Ark., also umpires and is president of a fast pitch league when not deployed.

In closing, the Colonel said,”Good luck from my family and other personnel in the Middle East who support you and I look forward to watching you play.”

Colonel Easter and the rest of the Easter family won’t be the only ones watching with enthusiasm and anticipation as Team USA tries for a four-peat in Olympic softball.

Abbott Hurls No-Hitter as USA Softball Wins 19-0 Over Portland All-Stars

PORTLAND, Oregon – Exactly a month out of opening ceremonies for the 2008 Olympic Games, the USA Softball National team continued their KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour with a 19-0 rout of the Portland All-Stars going nine innings to help prepare the team for Beijing. No. 14 Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) earned her 14th win of the season working nine complete innings with 15 strikeouts and no hits for her third no-hitter of the Tour.

“Its nice to get out there again as we are about a month out of our first game at the Olympics. The team is gelling well and we are just trying to build on that in preparation for the Games,” said Abbott. “We still have a lot to work on over the next couple weeks before we leave for China but today was a good game to get our last leg of the tour started on.”

It was almost three up three down for the team in the first inning until Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) roped a double down the left field line for the team’s first hit of the game. A pop up to left field by Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) left Mendoza stranded in scoring position.

Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) earned the start in the circle for her 15th start of the Tour.

The Portland All-Stars would put their own runner in scoring position in the second inning when Robyn Mask reached on an error by second baseman Lovie Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.). She advanced to second on a passed ball but a groundout by Portland would leave her stranded.

The team struck in the second inning when Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.) took a full count pitch over the bleachers in left center field to give the team a 1-0 lead.

For the second consecutive inning, Team USA led off with a homerun this time off the bat of Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.). Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) followed with a bloop over the third baseman’s head , scooting to second but would be caught stealing for the final out of the inning.

The Americans doubled their lead to 4-0 in the fifth inning with Watley getting it started when she was hit by a pitch. Watley advanced to second on a passed ball and would score when Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) singled and advanced to second on a throwing error by pitcher Mandy Hill. A sac fly by Mendoza plated Lowe to give the team a 4-0 advantage.

Starter Candice Baker earned the loss working three innings, giving up four hits and two earned runs.

In the sixth a shot over the centerfield fence by Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) plated Kretschman and Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) both who reached on walks for three more runs. Nuveman was 2-for-4 on the night with three RBI and two runs scored. Jung followed with a double over the left fielder’s head and would score when Watley singled down the right field line. A Lowe single put two runners on but not for long as Mendoza hit a ball that fell just short of going over the fence but was good enough for a double, giving the team a 10-0 lead. Bustos edged the lead to 12-0 with a shot that cleared the outside fence hitting the Portland trees, bringing in another pitching change. Kretschman, in her second appearance at the plate in the sixth, was the first up to face pitcher Kelly Dyer with two outs but a fly out by her and Duran concluded the inning.

In the seventh inning, back-to-back doubles by Nuveman and Flowers put two runners on with Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) up to bat after entering in for shortstop Watley. A Lappin single to right field pushed a run across with another run scored off a fielder’s choice by Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) who came into centerfield, giving the team a 14-0 advantage. A single by designated player Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.) scored two more runs for the Red, White and Blue with Galindo reaching third on a single by Kretschman which brought in the fourth pitcher of the game in Mikayla Endicott. A two-RBI single by Duran concluded the six-run seventh inning.

The game went nine innings tonight to help prepare the team for extra-inning games in Beijing. Mendoza tacked on one in the eight off a sac fly to score Flowers who reached on an error by shortstop giving the team a 19-0 win. Seven of the 19 RBI came off homeruns by the team.

Abbott closed out the game with 15 strikeouts and allowed no hits for her 14th win of the season.

The team will travel tomorrow to Spokane, Washington tomorrow for their matchup against the Spokane

USA Softball on ESPN over the Holiday Weekend

ESPN is airing the game between the USA Softball Women’s National Team and the Canadian National team on July 4 at6:30 p.m./CST as part of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour. The game was a “pink out” with the USA team wearing pink jerseys in support of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

In conjunction with the airing of the game, the Amateur Softball Association is hosting an eBay auction featuring all the jerseys as well as one-of-a-kind cleats, gloves and much more that the team wore against Canada. Log onto http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZsoftballoutlet to bid beginning Fri., July 4 at noon CST.

In addition, more USA Softball action can also be seen this weekend as the family of ESPN networks is re-airingthree other games this upcoming weekend holiday.

They include:

Thur. July 3 USA vs.Tennessee7:00 p.m./CST (ESPN2)
Sat. July 5 USA vs. Virginia Tech 11:00a.m./CST (ESPN)
Sun. July 6 USA vs. Michigan3:00 a.m./CST (ESPN)

Beijing 2008 Olympic Ticket Sellout

Beijing, China; 30th June 2008: Softball’s campaign to be reinstated onto the Olympic Programme in 2016 moved closer to reality with the news that all 300-plus thousand tickets for the softball games in the Beijing 2008 Olympics have now been sold.

The news that the sport’s global showcase event is sold out will strengthen the global BackSoftball campaign led by International Softball Federation President Don Porter. The aim is for softball to return as a sport onto the 2016 Games programme after missing out by the narrowest of margins (only one vote) for the London 2012 programme at the 2005 Session of the International Olympic Committee in Singapore.

Mr. Porter commented, “This is wonderful but not unexpected news that confirms that softball is an immensely popular Olympic sport. It means that tens of thousands of people in China and from all around the world have chosen softball as their Olympic sport of choice. They will be joined by hundreds of millions of worldwide television viewers who cannot travel to Beijing. We anticipate strong following from all 130 countries that are officially part of the global softball family.

“We have had this kind of success attracting spectators not only at past Olympics, but in the same stadium in Beijing two years ago when we had our women’s world championship there. Even at our Jr. Men’s World Championship (19-and-under) that ended yesterday in Whitehorse (Yukon, Canada) there were sellout crowds. Certainly softball is a sport that people around the world are enjoying playing and watching.

“As a result, we’re optimistic that the IOC will take notice of the universal appeal of softball and vote in (October) 2009 to reinstate our sport to the 2016 Games,” the ISF president continued. “Our Back Softball progress report that we recently issued shows that our sport has made great strides globally over the last couple years, and these sellout crowds in Beijing and the exciting games that will be played in front of them on that field in China are further testimony to why softball is a great asset to the Olympic Movement.”

Team USA Uses Short Game To Shut Out Team Texas 13-0

KILLEEN, Texas – The 50th win of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour came tonight as the USA Softball Women’s National team handled Team Texas with a 13-0 tonight in Killeen, Texas. For only the second time this season, there were no extra base hits by the USA offense with all 13 hits being singles.

In the first inning Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) took the first pitch of her at bat for a single down the middle that plated Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) who reached on an error by third baseman Loryn Johnson. Bustos’ single was the first of five-consecutive singles to help give the team a first-inning 5-0 lead. Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) contributed one RBI in the first while Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) contributed two with the whole team getting a shot at starting pitcher Brittany Barnhill.

Team Texas nearly got a hit in the second but two great catches by left field Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) and a groundout to third baseman Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) left starting pitcher Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) with no hits against her.

Using the short game again, back-to back-to-back singles by Watley, Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) and Mendoza set up the plate for Bustos. A ball hit deep to left field was nearly out but with the wind blowing in and a snag by left fielder Becca Ribera only a sac fly was recorded. Two more runs would score off a single by Duran when the right fielder threw the ball over the third baseman’s head allowing two runs to score. Barnhill left the game with Brandi Crnkovic coming in the circle. A sac groundout by Flowers gave the team its ninth run of the game.

Crnkovic left the game unscathed as she allowed no hits and one walk before Jenny Isham entered the game in the fourth.

After Team USA loaded the bases in the fifth, Crnkovic re-entered after Lindsey Liles took over for Isham. Loading up the bases were an error by pitcher to Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.) and two walks to Berg and Watley. A two-RBI single by Lowe put two runs up on the board with Watley tagging on another run, scoring on a passed ball. Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) entered to pinch hit and was successful with an RBI-single scoring Lowe to give the team a 13-0 win.

“Today was a good day for the team as we came out strong in the first couple innings which is what we always aim to do,” said Watley who was 2-for-3 on the day with three runs scored. “We’ve been on the road for almost a month so we are tired but its good to see us still coming out as a team.”

Finch earned her 17th win of the Tour with her fourth complete game no-hit performance. She struck out nine batters while issuing one walk.

The team will wrap up its 27-day road trip on Friday at 7:00 p.m. , in Midland, Texas before a week break.

Abbott records no-hitter as U.S. uses four home-runs to blast past MAC All Stars 20-0

ASHLAND, Ohio — In its 50th game of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour, the USA Softball Women’s National team notched another victory with a 20-0 shutout against the Mid-American All Stars at Brookside Park on Monday evening. Hurler Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) tossed her first seven-inning no-hit performance of the tour recording 15 strikeouts.

Moving to 49-1, leading the pack was Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) who was 3-for-3 with three RBI and a home run. Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) was 3-for-3 as well and catcher Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) recorded a team-high five RBI going 2-for-3 with a home run.

“Tonight was a good performance,” said Abbott. “I am always trying to work on my pitches to get them better and now I am already thinking about how to be better than tonight. I guess that is just the athlete in me.”

The MAC All Stars consisted of players from the Mid-American Conference schools including Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Miami University, Kent State, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Ohio University, Toledo, and Akron.

Abbott retired five of the first eight All Star batters via the strikeout. The first All Star runner reached base in the top of the second inning after Brianna Robinson was hit by an Abbott pitch.

Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) inked the first hit of the night with a blast to centerfield for a two-out stand up double in the bottom of the first. She was left stranded by clean-up hitter Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) who grounded out to the shortstop.

The U.S. took the lead in the bottom of the third inning when Lovieanne Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.) led the inning with a hard hit base hit back at the new All Star pitcher in Kyla Sullivan (Western Michigan). A perfect sacrifice bunt from first baseman Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) moved Jung into scoring position before Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) poked a double to right center scoring Jung for the 1-0 lead. Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) then laid down a bunt for a single moving Watley to third when Mendoza laced the ball to the All Star first baseman for her second hit recording an RBI as Watley crossed home plate.

The strength and swing of Bustos then struck with two runners on board as the designated player drove a 3-2 pitch to left center for her 27th home run of the tour. With a 5-0 lead, catcher Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) made it 6-0 with a single to right center plating Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Springs, Fla.) who reached on a walk. Kretschman leads the team on the tour with 40 total walks.

The bottom of the third inning continued as Team USA pushed the game out of reach with a 9-0 advantage. The U.S. batted through the line up adding a seventh run of the inning from a Jung sacrifice flyout combined with a Watley RBI single scoring Nuveman. The final run of the inning was issued when Mendoza earned a walk with bases loaded and pinch runner Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) scored for the 9-0 lead.

The U.S. put two more runs on the scoreboard in the fourth inning thanks to a Finch two RBI single scoring Flowers and Kretschman.

With one swing of the bat, Mendoza added her third hit of the game in the fifth with a solo home run to right center for her 16th of the tour. The U.S. added three more runs on the home run ball again from Nuveman who jacked a homer to right field; her sixth of the tour.

Five more runs were tallied from the Red, White and Blue in the bottom of the sixth inning due to a Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) two-run home run to right field combined with a two RBI Jung single and a run walked in by the All Star pitcher.

The team will fly to Texas on Tuesday for competition in Killeen on Wednesday and Midland on Saturday. Be sure to log on to www.usasoftball.com for results and updates!

Osterman tosses one-hitter as USA rolls by Midland 14-0

MIDLAND, Mich. — Left-handed pitcher Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) tossed a one-hit performance on Saturday afternoon at Currie Stadium as the USA Softball Women’s National team cruised to a 14-0 shutout over the Midland Lady Explorers. Improving to 48-1 on the KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour, the U.S. scored in four of six innings as 5,023 fans enjoyed the sunny afternoon game.

“It was nice to come out and have a good performance today,” said Osterman. “I have been working on a lot of stuff in practice and it was nice to see the improvement and have a consistent outing.”

Osterman (11-0) tallied 11 strikeouts in 19 batters faced with catcher Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) who was 2-for-3 with one RBI. Third baseman Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) had a remarkable day going 4-for-4 with three RBI. Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Springs, Fla.) was 2-for-4 with four RBI including two doubles.

“Things went ok today,” said Bustos. “I put the bat on the ball but never really got a hold of one, but I will keep working. But hey, it’s always good to have a 4-for-4 day.”

Bustos roped in her 70th RBI of the tour in the first inning giving the U.S. a 1-0 advantage. Left-handed slapper Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) beat out a play at first base to give the U.S. its first hit of the contest and then stole second base before scoring on the Bustos hit.

The U.S. opened up the game in the bottom of the third inning scoring four runs on five hits and one Lady Explorers error. Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) laid down a base hit bunt to begin the inning and then stole her 18th base of the tour moving quickly to scoring position. Lowe moved Watley to third with a ground out before Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) doubled to left field for the 2-0 lead. It was another two-bagger for the U.S. as the next hitter Bustos connected on her second hit in as many at bats with an RBI plating Mendoza. Two more runs would score for the 5-0 lead with an Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) RBI single and a fielding error from the Lady Explorers first baseman.

Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.) sent a base clearing stand-up double to left center in the bottom of the fourth inning scoring three runs for the 8-0 advantage. The bases were loaded thanks to a walk from Lowe and singles from Mendoza and Bustos. One more run gave the U.S. a solid 9-0 lead with an RBI single from Lovieanne Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.) scoring Kretschman.

Kim Cozat saw the only hit of the game for the Midland Lady Explorers in the top of the fifth inning when she connected on an Osterman pitch that she drove through the left side.

Five runs in the fifth inning was what the U.S. put up as they moved to the eventual 14-0 victory. A new Midland pitcher in Stacy Kraatz, the U.S. used five hits and two Explorer errors to add the five runs to the stat sheet. A leadoff single from Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) jump started the drive before she would later score on a Bustos single. Kretschman then recorded her second double scoring Mendoza who earned a base on balls. Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.) had an RBI single then to score another run while a wild pitch plated Kretschman. The final run was the product of a Nuveman single that plated Galindo.

The U.S. is headed to Ashland, Ohio on Sunday afternoon for competition on Monday evening in Ashland. Game time is 7 p.m.

Duran explodes for six RBI as USA wins 19-0 over Collegiate All Stars

OUTH BEND, Ind. — Third baseman Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) recorded a team-high six RBI as the USA Softball Women’s National team continued to roll on the KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour with a 19-0 shutout victory over the Collegiate All Stars at the Belleville Softball Complex. In the circle, Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) tallied her 16th win of the tour totaling six innings with ten strikeouts and two hits allowed. Duran was a perfect 3-for-3 with six RBI including a two RBI home run in the second inning and a two RBI double in the third inning. It marked her second home run in as many games as she totals 19 on the tour with 73 RBI.

“It’s my job to move runners and tonight I was glad to execute for my team,” said Duran. “I felt good out there and things are starting to come along at the right time for us. It’s exciting that the Games are just around the corner.”

Along with Duran, Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) was 3-for-4 with two RBI and catcher Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) was 3-for-5 with one RBI.

The Collegiate All Stars consisted of Division I student-athletes from Notre Dame, Illinois, Northwestern, Indiana, Southern Illinois, and Eastern Michigan. They scattered two singles in the contest from Ashley Hall (Purdue) in the first inning and Tammy Williams (Northwestern) in the fourth.

The largest crowd in the state of Indiana to ever watch a softball game, 2,836 fans attended the game as the U.S. moved to 47-1 on the tour. On the stat sheet, Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) leads the ranks with a .469 batting average with 15 home runs and 77 RBI while the team has outscored opponents 539 to 26. The pitching staff has an ERA of .52 and has held opponents to a .093 batting average.

With two outs, the U.S. scored its first run of the contest in the bottom of the first inning. Shortstop Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) jumped on board early with a high chopper to the second baseman for the first USA hit of the game. Watley added her 16th stolen base of the tour sprinting to second before waiting through two outs when Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) roped a base hit through the right side for the 1-0 lead.

The Red, White and Blue manufactured six runs in perfect fashion in the bottom of the second inning. Back-to-back singles from Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) and Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.) made things look promising as the speed of the U.S. took over. In the No. 9 hole, Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) laid down a sacrifice bunt advancing both runners while Watley connected on her second hit of the game with an RBI infield hit. Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) then chopped a high hit infield hit scoring Galindo. Lowe then stole second base before a fielder’s choice from Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) scored Watley for the 5-0 lead. Duran then stroked her 19th home run of the tour to left field and her second in as many games for two RBI and the 7-0 control of the game.

The home team continued to light up the scoreboard with 11 runs in the bottom of the third inning batting through the entire line-up. The bases became juiced right away with a single from Watley and two walks issued to Lowe and Mendoza. Bustos was then nailed in the knee with a pitch taking first base allowing Watley to score the first run. A Duran single then put two more runs across home plate followed by a Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) RBI base hit, a Lappin RBI double to center and a Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.) two RBI single up the middle. The U.S. would go on to score four more runs with a Watley sacrifice flyout, a Lowe single to center field and the final Duran hit for two RBI.

On Friday, the U.S. will continue its Midwest portion of the Bound 4 Beijing tour with practice in the morning before traveling to Midland, Michigan in the evening. The team will take the field for game No. 49 on the tour at 3 p.m.

USA Softball offense powers past Midwest All Stars

STEVENS POINT, Wis. — It was all Red, White and Blue on Tuesday evening as the USA Softball Women’s National team defeated the Midwest All Stars 20-1* as the KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour visited Stevens Point, Wisconsin. *NOTE* The run scored in the top of the sixth by the Midwest All Stars was a sacrifice flyout after they started the inning with a situational runner on third base with no outs. The U.S. team will continue this practice on the tour as they prepare for the Olympic Games.

A chilly evening with 2,536 in attendance, the U.S. (46-1) was led by Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) who combined for a 3-for-4 outing with three RBI. Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) was right behind her going 3-for-5 while Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) was 2-for-2 with three RBI and Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) was 2-for-2 with two RBI and two walks.

“I felt good tonight and was excited to play,” said Watley. “We had yesterday off so I was rested and relaxed. It was refreshing to be back on the field ready to go.”

Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) moved to 12-0 in tour action totaling 6.1 innings pitched allowing just two hits with 13 strikeouts.

Two quick base hits by Watley and Lowe led off the top of the first inning before Mendoza earned a walk to load the bases. Clean-up hitter Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) roped a line drive to the All Star third baseman who made the force out at third just after Watley scored for the 1-0 lead. A play at plate punched the second out of the game while Duran posted her 19th home run of the tour with a three-run dinger to centerfield scoring Bustos and Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.) who reached on a walk. A an RBI double from Lovieanne Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.) put the 5-0 on the scoreboard as Lauren Lappin scored (Anaheim, Calif.), who earned a base on balls.

The sixth run for the U.S. was a sacrifice flyout from Mendoza in the top of the second inning that scored Lowe who earlier sent a triple to the centerfield fences.

The bottom of the third inning saw a 7-0 lead for the U.S. as Watley knocked in her first RBI of the game when she singled to centerfield and Duran crossed home plate. Duran reached on a walk earlier in the inning.

A new All Star pitcher Briana Hassett (Uni. Of Minnesota) entered in the bottom of the fourth inning and the U.S. loaded the bases with three singles from Mendoza, Bustos and Kretschman. A foul out from Duran issued the first out before Lappin smoked a fly ball to centerfield for the sacrifice and 8-0 lead. Hassett walked in the ninth run scoring pinch runner Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.) who entered for Bustos. With the bases loaded again, due to walks from Hassett, Watley drove her third hit of the game up the middle scoring two for the 11-0 advantage.

Batting through the line up, Mendoza drove in two more RBI in the fourth in her second hit of the inning for the 13-0 lead.

The U.S. put seven runs up in the bottom of the fifth inning for a 20-0 lead. Kicked off with back-to-back walks issued to Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) and Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.), the U.S. scored on singles from Lappin and Finch early on. An All Stars fielding error added another run before the inning was highlighted by a two RBI doubled to left field from Galindo.

In the top of the sixth, the Midwest All Stars put their lone run on the board after a situational runner was placed on third base and Korryn Brooks knocked in a sacrifice flyout. The U.S. will continue to put situational runners on base with no outs as preparation for the Olympic Games.

Midwest All Star Chelsea Rosenow (Winona State) connected on the first of two hits in the contest for the All Stars with a base hit bunt in the second inning while Casey Leisgang (UW-Eau Claire) knocked in a single in the fourth.

Its back on the bus again on Wednesday as the USA squad will travel to South Bend, Indiana for a game on Thursday evening. Game time is 7 p.m.

USA Softball adds two wins in Normal, IL as tour continues

NORMAL, Ill. — The USA Softball Women’s National team added two wins to the schedule on Saturday afternoon taking care of Team NPF 6-0 in game one and the Bloomington Lady Hearts 19-0 in four innings in game two. Improving to 45-1 in KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour action, the U.S. played in front of 4,217 fans who cheered as the Red, White and Blue put on a run fest totaling 25 for the day with 25 hits as well.

“We came here in 2004 and once again it was a fantastic site,” said two-time Olympic gold medalist Stacey Nuveman. “Today I really felt great out there. My at bats are getting better every day as we continue on the tour and prepare ourselves for situations in Beijing.”

Stevens Point, Wisconsin is next on the schedule for the Red, White and Blue as they will take Sunday to travel north before returning to the field on Tuesday, June 17 at 7:30 p.m. against the Wisconsin All Stars.

Game 1 – USA 6 Team NPF 0

Pitcher Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) led the U.S. in game one with her 15th win of the tour tossing a two-hit 6-0 shutout against Team NPF on Saturday afternoon. From the plate, designated player Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) led the way going 3-for-3 with one RBI coming off a solo home run.

Quiet in the first, Team USA was the first to score in the bottom of the second inning after back-to-back base hits from Bustos and Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Springs, Fla.). With a pop out and strikeout, things looked dim for the home team but second baseman Lovieanne Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.) sparked a run for the Red, White and Blue with an RBI base hit. Up next was Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) who stroked a double to right field giving the U.S. two insurance runs with Kretschman and Jung scoring for the 3-0 lead.

Held in the third inning, the U.S. added two runs in the fourth inning on a Flowers sacrifice flyout scoring Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) who reached on an error from the NPF shortstop. The second run was a product of Natasha Watley’s (Irvine, Calif.) work with an RBI single plating catcher Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) who also reached on an NPF error.

The single swing of Bustos added the sixth and final run for the USA in the bottom of the fifth as she bolted an 0-2 pitch to dead center for her 21st home run of the tour.

The NPF scattered just two hits in the game from shortstop Amber Jackson and designated player Chelsea Spencer.

Game 2 – USA 19 Bloomington Lady Hearts 0

In game two action, the U.S. scored 19 runs in just four innings to capture the 19-0 run-rule victory against the hosting Bloomington Lady Hearts. Lefty Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) earned her 10th win of the tour with four innings pitched, eight strikeouts recorded, and one hit allowed. The U.S. exploded for 17 hits with nine different hitters contributing in the contest. Nuveman recorded her first grand slam of the tour going 3-for-4 with six RBI. Mendoza was a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBI while Lowe was 3-for-4 with one RBI.

The U.S. turned it on from the very start and never looked back scoring five runs in the first inning on Lady Heart starting pitcher Katie Newman. Back-to-back singles put Watley and Lowe on board with Bustos driving them in with a two RBI single to right field. The next RBI came from Nuveman who knocked in her sixth double of the tour scoring pinch runner Kretschman. A combination of errors from the Hearts pushed two more runs across to give the USA an early 5-0 lead.

With a 10-0 advantage the game became out of reach for the Lady Hearts in the second inning. The bases were quickly juiced when Lowe drove in a double, Mendoza singled to right field and Kretschman walked. Her fifth home run and first grand slam of the tour, Nuveman rocketed the ball to right field clearing the bases for the 9-0 lead. The final run of the inning came off a Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) fielder’s choice RBI that scored Flowers who also reached on a fielder’s choice.

The runs kept coming in the bottom of the third inning as the U.S. posted a nine run, seven hit inning off of two Heart pitchers in Brittany Stanley and Chrissy Burtson. Batting through the line-up, the inning was highlighted by a Nuveman-RBI double sent to left field, the speed of Berg who connected on a two RBI triple to left field, and Kretschman who roped in a triple to right field.

The Lady Hearts saw two base runners in the game with a walk to third baseman Ashley Deck in the first inning and a base hit from first baseman Allison Ward in the fourth inning.

USA Softball’s Mike Candrea receives Academy Distinguished Service Award

DAPHNE, Ala. – United States Sports Academy Trustee Jack Scharr presented University of Arizona and USA Olympic Softball Coach Mike Candrea with the Academy’s Distinguished Service Award during a ceremony in St. Louis during the USA Softball KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour stop in Missouri.

Candrea led the Wildcats to back-to-back NCAA softball championships in 2006 and 2007. With eight national championships in the last 17 years, Candrea’s credentials invariably trump those of his coaching colleagues across the country. He reached 1,100 career Division I victories faster than any coach in history, rounding out that achievement with 19 trips to the Women’s College World Series over the last 20 years.

As if conquering the world of collegiate softball were not enough, Candrea spent the summer of 2006 leading Team USA to a World Cup of Softball title and a gold medal at the ISF World Championships in Beijing. Following Arizona’s fall workouts, he coached the U.S. squad to victory in the Japan Cup, its third tournament title of the year. Two years earlier, his leadership helped propel the U.S. to a perfect 9–0 record and the gold medal in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Candrea will coach Team USA during the 2008 Beijing Games as well.

The only year Arizona was absent from the WCWS, Candrea was at the helm of USA Softball’s barnstorming tour that preceded its gold medal showing in Athens. He was inducted into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1996, and since that time his teams have a record of 635–84.

The Distinguished Service Award (DSA) is given annually to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to national or international sports through instruction, research or service. The award has been presented by the Academy since 1984. Past honorees include Don Shula, Martina Navratilova, Pat Summitt, Eddie Robinson, George Steinbrenner and Bud Selig..

The Academy Rosette is modeled after the Legion of Honor instituted by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802. A rosette is a symbol of recognition and affiliation.

The United States Sports Academy is an independent, non-profit, accredited, special mission sports university created to serve the nation and the world with programs in instruction, research and service. The role of the Academy is to prepare men and women for careers in the profession of sports.

For more information about the United States Sports Academy, “America’s Sports University,” call 251-626-3303 or visit their website at http://www.ussa.edu/.

USA Softball dominates with 17-0 win over Kansas All Stars

TOPEKA, Kansas — After a one hour and 27 minute lightning delay, the USA Softball Women’s National team posted a dominating 17-0 shutout over the Kansas All-Stars Tuesday evening at TPS Hummer Park. Winning pitcher Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) moved to 9-0 on the tour allowing just one hit with 12 strikeouts in the contest. Improving to 42-1, the U.S. recorded 23 hits in the victory with seven players registering multiple-hit outings.

Leading the way was Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) who was 4-for-5 with two RBI and switch hitter Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) who connected on three hits left-handed and one hit right-handed going 4-for-4.

“I went into tonight really wanting to work on some things from the left side,” said Lappin. “I was able to execute on my short game and slapping which was nice. My team really set the table for me and we had a good frame of mind coming into tonight.”

Despite the delay, the fans still packed the stands with over 3,000 people in attendance for the entire evening. The Kansas All-Stars was a team consisting of players from Oklahoma, Kansas, Pittsburg State, Washburn, Missouri St. and Winthrop.

In the top of the first, All Star third baseman Val Chapple connected on a two-out base hit through the right side just over second baseman Vicky Galindo’s head. Chapple was stranded with a ground out to close the inning before the lightning delay occurred at 7:36 p.m. prior to USA’s first at bat.

Play resumed in the bottom of the first inning at 9:03 p.m. with Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) at the plate.

With two outs in the first, Mendoza drove the ball through the right side for a base hit bringing Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) to the plate. A stolen base from Mendoza combined with an errant throw from the All Star catcher put Mendoza on third before Bustos produced her 63rd RBI of the tour with a base hit plating Mendoza for the 1-0 lead.

Switch hitter Lappin used her left-handed skills with a lead off base hit bunt in the bottom of the second inning. She quickly made her way back to the dugout however after being caught stealing during Vicky Galindo’s (Union City, Calif.) at bat. Galindo reached on a base on balls, advanced to second on a stolen base and reached third after Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) laid down a perfect bunt to put runners at first and third. A passed ball then scored Galindo before Watley drove in the second run of the inning with a double to left field. The U.S. took a 4-0 lead when Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) recorded her 62nd hit of the tour scoring Berg. A double by designated player Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Springs, Fla.) pushed Lowe across and an RBI single up the middle from Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) put Kretschman home. In her second at bat of the inning, Lappin connected on an RBI base hit scoring Kretschman for the comfortable 7-0 lead.

Defensively the U.S. held strong through the third and fourth innings despite putting runners on at first and second base to start the innings. The U.S. will continue this practice throughout the tour to prepare for situations and play in the Olympic Games.

Silenced in the third inning, the U.S. loaded the bases in the fourth when Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) walked followed by a high flying base hit from Flowers and the third single of the night for Lappin. Galindo roped the ball to All Star shortstop Miranda Campbell for the out at first but Duran would score for the 8-0 advantage.

The U.S. added nine more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning batting through the line up. Watley had a lead off double that started the run barrage and the U.S. more than doubled their previous run total in just this one inning. The inning was highlighted by a Duran two RBI single as well as a Mendoza two RBI single pushing the 17-0 win.

Watley, Lowe and Kretschman each contributed three hits a piece.

Through 43 games, the team is hitting .418 and has outscored opponents 469 to 25. The pitching staff had held opponents to a .092 batting average with a 0.82 ERA.

Up next the U.S. will bus to the Gateway City of St. Louis, Mo. for competition on Thursday evening at ABC Park. The team will match- up against the Missouri All Stars at 7 p.m.

USA Softball Run Rules China 7-0 In Five Innings

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — In pre-Olympic exhibition play, the three-time Olympic gold medal USA Softball team defeated Olympic host China, 7-0 in five innings, today at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) was the go to in the circle this weekend with a 3-0 record with a start and two wins in relief while Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.) went 4-for-8 in three games with a team-high seven RBI and timely hitting.

The U.S. wasted no time to take a lead putting up four runs in the bottom of the second inning.

Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) put up her 62nd RBI of the tour to give the U.S. the lead with no outs in the second inning. The third baseman roped a single up the middle plating pinch runner Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.) who entered for Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) who was hit by a pitch. Kretschman, currently hitting .422, earned a walk prior to Duran’s hit putting runners ready to score for Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) who drove in her fourth home run of the tour to left center giving the home team a solid 4-0 lead.

“Today we came out prepared and focused and played the way USA Softball should play,” said USA Softball Head Coach Mike Candrea. “The thing we have to get in our minds is that we have to come out every day ready to execute our game so we can bring home a gold medal.”

Speed started the U.S. in good fashion in the bottom of the third inning with two infield hits from Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) and designated player Galindo. But new Chinese pitcher Yu Hui Li and her defense left the runners stranded with two fly outs to close the inning.

A hot hitting Nuveman put her second hit of the game to the right field line with a double to lead off the fourth inning. A single from Lovie Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.) moved Nuveman pinch runner Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) to third base before a walk to Watley loaded the bags. Lowe then drove in the fifth run for the U.S. with a single scoring Berg. RBI leader Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) then roped a two–RBI double to give the U.S. a 7-0 advantage. As China is an International opponent, the game only went five innings due to the run-ahead rule in International play.

With Finch heading near a perfect game in the fifth inning, China saw their only base runner when Li Chun Xia singled to left field to break up Finch’s perfect game.

In her first start of the weekend, Finch allowed only one hit with five strikeouts to extend her tour record to 14-1. She came in for relief earlier in the weekend against Team NPF and Canada to help the team earn two wins.

With less than 20 games on the schedule for the remainder of the tour, the team will now head to Topeka, Kan., for a game against the Topeka All-Stars. Continue to check out http://www.usasoftball.com/ for complete coverage of USA Softball.

Dressed In Pink Jerseys For Breast Cancer Awareness Day

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. —- Dressed in pink jerseys for breast cancer awareness day, the USA Softball Women’s National team battled from behind for the second straight day but came out on top with a 9-5 victory over Canada. Its first international opponent of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour, the game saw three lead changes before a three-run homer from Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) put the game out of reach and allowed the U.S. to record its 41st win of the tour.

“Two days of coming from behind is not fun for us,” said Bustos. “But it’s all a learning process for us so when we get to China we are ready to face anything. Facing good competition is what we need. We need to be in situations in order to develop.”

For the circle, the U.S. struggled allowing five runs on five hits. Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) started for the U.S. and completed 4.1 innings allowing five earned runs. Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) captured the win for the team to extend her record to 13-1. Finch came in for relief and threw 2.2 innings with two strikeouts, allowing two hits.

The Canadians jumped in front early in the top of first inning with a 1-0 lead. A lead off walk to Melanie Matthews combined with an Erin McLean base hit put two runners on board. The bases then loaded with a fielders choice from Jennifer Yee before Lovie Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.) put the first out on board with a force out at home. Sheena Lawrick then poked an RBI base hit to right field scoring McLean for a 1-0 jump. Continuing to threaten with runners in scoring position, Abbott settled down and retired the final out via the strikeout.

A one run Canada lead didn’t last long as the U.S. offense responded tying the game 1-1 in the bottom of the first. Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) earned a base hit to kick start the momentum following closely behind with a Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) infield base hit. The lefty swing of Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbor Beach, Fla.) struck once again for a U.S. run with an RBI base hit and the tie.

Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) brought life to the U.S. offense again in the top of the third inning with a two out double to right field. The double marked her 16th two bagger of the tour. An intentional walk to an RBI hot Kretschman made things interesting which resulted in a pitching change from Canada to Danielle Lawrie. Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) then drew a walk to load the bases before the U.S. called on Crystl Bustos as a pinch hitter looking to drive in runs and take the lead. With the fans chanting for Bustos, Lawrie jammed her swing with an inside pitch forcing her to pop up and end the inning empty handed.

The controlled hitting eyes of the U.S. gave the home team the 4-1 advantage in the bottom of the fourth inning. Three base on balls were issued from Lawrie to Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.), Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) and Watley to load the bases bringing Lowe to an RBI situation. Inking her 30th RBI of the tour, Lowe was successful with a long fly ball to left field plating Lappin for the sacrifice flyout. ‘Clutchmen” Kretschman came through once again with a blooper to left field to put Flowers and Watley across home plate for the 4-1 comfortable lead. All three runs scored in the fourth reached on a walk with just one hit accounted for.

A four-run fifth inning for the Canadians put them in front 5-4 and changed the tide for the U.S.

Abbott issued three walks to load the bases for Canada. With the go-ahead run at the plate in Yee, she ripped a base hit off the head of first baseman Flowers plating Noemie Marin for the 4-2 score. A pickle situation, the U.S. failed to record an out and they called upon Finch in the circle with two runners on. A wild pitch from Finch then scored the third run for Canada before a two RBI single from Allison Bradley gave Canada the 5-4 jump over Team USA.

A 1-2-3 inning in the fifth for the U.S., the sixth brought the Red, White and Blue back on top with a 9-5 lead. Back-to-back singles from Watley and Lowe pumped up the crowd and brought in the third pitcher for Canada of the day in Dione Meier. Mendoza was hit by a pitch for the second time in as many days to load up the bases. A passed ball from Canada’s Erin Cumpstone tied the game when Watley crossed home plate. Kretschman walked and a Duran sacrifice flyout gave the team a narrow 6-5 lead. With two outs on the board Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) blasted a three-run homer, her 20th of the tour, to give the team a solid 9-5 lead of which would be the final score.

The team wraps up competition in Oklahoma City tomorrow with a LIVE televised game vs. International opponent China. The game will be televised on MSNB at 11:00 CT. Check your local programming so you can check out the action. Also remember to log on to http://www.usasoftball.com/ for complete coverage of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour.

Cailtin Lowe hits her first grand slam of KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour.

FORT WORTH, Texas – In front of 6,211 at Gateway Park in Fort Worth, Texas, the team’s offense was held a bay through four innings until a 10-run fifth inning launched the team to a 12-0 win over the Fort Worth Diamonds. The team (38-1) will now head back to the home of softball this weekend for an Olympic Preview with opponents China and Canada.

The team took an early 1-0 lead in the first when a groundout by Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) scored Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) who reached on a fielder’s choice. With no outs in the third, bases were loaded with the top of the lineup but it would not be a hit that brought in the second run of the game. Pitcher Brittany Barnhill let one get away and Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) took advantage of the wild pitch giving the team a 2-0 lead.

After a fairly uneventful game, the Red, White and Blue gave the fans of Fort Worth, Texas gave the fans what they came for an offensive onslaught with 10 runs scored in the fifth inning. Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) put up the first extra base hit of the game and it was a big one with Flowers hitting a two-run homerun to right centerfield. The next three batters singled to reach and with one swing of the bat crossed home off a grand slam by Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) for her first grand slam of the season. Three more runs were scored when the Diamonds went for the out at home but an error by the third baseman allowed Bustos to score. A miscommunication allowed two more runs to score with Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) reaching third on a fielder’s choice.

For the first time this tour, all three pitchers saw time in the circle for a combined one-hit performance. Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) earned the start in the win going two innings to extend her record to 11-1. Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) and Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) both threw two innings a piece with only hit one allowed in six innings, a single allowed by Osterman.

The team will next face its biggest competition of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour with two Olympic opponents this weekend at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City. The team will open play with a game at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow against Team NPF, a team comprised of the top athletes from the National Pro Fastpitch League. On Saturday the team squares off with the Canadian National Team at 2:00 p.m. and will close the weekend on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. with a matchup with the Chinese National Team. Tickets for this event can be purchased at the gate. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to see the best teams in the World battle it out.

Log onto http://www.usasoftball.com/for complete coverage of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour.

About ASA

The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 83 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.