The U.S. softball team actually allowed an opponent to play a full regulation game against it Friday, rather than having the game called after five innings because of a seven-run lead.
It was only the third time in seven preliminary-round games that a team had gone the distance against the U.S. Chinese Taipei even got a runner to third base, only the third time in these Olympics that has happened to the Americans.
They’ll be talking about that in Chinese Taipei for years, as in: “Wow, we almost scored against the Americans.”
But as Chinese Taipei and its six predecessors learned, you don’t just score against these Americans easily. Matter of fact, you don’t score at all.
Friday’s final was 4-0. The seven-game tally, going into the semifinals Sunday and likely the final Monday, is:
U.S. 42 runs, Other Guys 0.
U.S. 55 hits, Other Guys 10.
The IOC is considering eliminating softball after the 2008 Games in Beijing, but for now nobody can touch the U.S.
The Americans have already clinched a medal. The only question is which color. The U.S. will be seeded first going into the semifinals, drawing its usual medal-round rival, Australia.
Cat Osterman, a 6-foot-3-inch left-handed pitcher, went five innings, yielded one hit, walked four, struck out 10 and made one very scary error.
In the Chinese Taipei third, after two were out, Osterman walked a batter. Then she fielded a slow grounder and tossed it well over the head of first baseman Tairia Flowers. When she followed that with another walk, the bases were loaded and the U.S.’ streak of shutouts was on the line.
But facing cleanup hitter Wang Ya Fen, Osterman struck her out.
“I wasn’t thinking about the streak,” Osterman said. “I was just thinking about getting out of the jam.”
Japan gained a spot in the semifinals as Yukiko Ueno pitched the first perfect game in Olympic history in a 2-0 victory over China. The teams will meet again in the semis.
