In one of the bggest upsets in Olympic history, Japan
downed the United States 3-1 Aug. 21 night to win its
first gold medal in softball.
The U.S. had never lost a gold medal in the 3 previous
Olympicsin which has been played.
Japan had lost to the U.S. in the round robin 7-0,
in a game calledafter five innings due to the mercy rule,
as well as 4-1 in the firstsemifinal on Wednesday.
But, Japanese batters came through Thursday against
Americanace Cat Osterman.
Masumi Mishina started off the 3rd inning with Japan's
first hit of the game,a double to left. After being sacrified
to third, Ayumi Karino beat out a weak grounder for a hit
that scored Mishina.
In the 4th innig, Eri Yamada smacked a one-strike pitch
into the center field stands to give Japan a 2-0 lead.
Soon after Yamada's home run, the rain became heavier
and thegame was delayed for about 18minutes.
Afer play resumed, the first batter Japanese ace Yukiko
Ueno faced in the 4th inning was Crysti Bustos.
Bustos muscled an oppositefield home run into
the right-field stands.
Japan added an insurance run in the 7th inning. Megu
Hirose smacked a single to left. Mishina laid down
a sacrifice bunt that first baseman Tairia Flowers threw
to second.
However ,shortstop Natasha Watley dropped the ball.
The two runners advanced on a hard shot that ricocheted
off Monica Abbott's left leg. Abbott, who came on in relief
of Osterman in the 6th,could only make a play at first.
Motoko Fujimoto hit a weak grounder to Abbott who tried
to nail at home plate, but the throw hit Hirose and rolled
away, allowing her to score the 3rd run.
Ueno went the distance and held Americans to just one
run on five hits. Ueno was the workhorse ace for Japan
in Beijing.
She pitched 40 of the team's 68 total innings going into
the gold-medal match.
She threw a 12-inning complete game against Australia
in the bronze medal match on Tuesday after having
pitched 9 innings against the U.S. earlier that same day
in the first semifinal.
However, she was not the dominating pitcher that she was
in Athens, when she pitched the only perfect game ever
thrown in Olympic competition against China.
She also had an ERA of 0.46.
Her ERA going into the gold medal game was 1.40.
Japan had only beaten the U.S.once before in Olympic
competition.
That came during the preliminary round robin game
at Sydney.
However, the U.S. came back in the medal round to defeat
the 3 teams it had lost to in the round robin, China,
Australia ahd Japan,to win the gold medal.
This may have been the last softball game ever played at
an Olympics.
The sport is not on the roster for the 2012 London
Olympics,although softball officials are continuing to lobby
for re-instatementfrom the 2016 Games.
Previously, Japan had won a silver medal in softball
at Sydney and a bronze at Athens.
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