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Post by Admin on Jul 26, 2021 5:46:35 GMT
This might be even bigger than expected, as with a typhoon heading straight for Tokyo, it’s possible the gold medal game could be canceled. If that happens, the United States would win the gold with a 5-0 record in pool play over Japan’s 4-1. A big move by Team USA’s Ken Eriksen here. Team USA’s Kelsey Stewart hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the United States a 2-1 win over Japan in the last game of softball preliminary play for both teams. With the win, the Americans will bat last in the gold medal game at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. Despite some dominant pitching from legends Monica Abbott and Cat Osterman, the USA has struggled with offense so far in this tournament. This is the first home run for the red, white, and blue at the Olympics. But it couldn’t come at a better time for the USA, who will look to win the first softball gold medal in 17 years for the traditionally-dominate nation in the sport.
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Post by Admin on Jul 27, 2021 22:48:54 GMT
Thirteen years after the Japanese women's softball national team achieved their biggest victory when they took down Team USA in the gold medal game at the 2008 Olympics, they returned to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and won the gold medal again.
Japan defeated USA Softball in the gold medal game on Tuesday, 2-0. The Americans entered the game with a perfect 5-0 record in group play, and on Monday handed Japan its only loss, 2-1, on Kelsey Stewart's seventh-inning, walk-off home run. The Tokyo 2020 softball tournament concludes with Team USA walking away with the silver medal and Canada getting the bronze medal (the country's first in softball) after defeating Mexico, 3-2, earlier on Tuesday.
1996: USA def. China, 3-1 2000: USA def. Japan, 2-1 2004: USA def. Australia, 5-1 2008: Japan def. USA, 3-1 2020: Japan def. USA, 2-0 *Softball was not part of Olympics in 2012 and 2016 and will not be a part of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
In Tuesday's winner-take-all final, Japan's star pitcher Yukiko Ueno shined on the mound. Uneo, 39, was also the winning pitcher in 2008. She pitched six scoreless innings and held Team USA to just two hits while striking out five. Team USA had the combination of Cat Osterman, Monica Abbott and Ally Carda on the mound, but the trio wasn't enough to stop Japan from piecing together clutch hitting and two-out rallies.
No offense but great defense from Team USA Japan just absolutely stymied the U.S. offense in the gold medal game at Yokohama Stadium. The team finished with just three hits in the loss. It wasn't necessarily a huge shock to see Team USA's offense this quiet; throughout the Olympics round-robin play, the team had scored just nine runs on 27 hits with just one home run. Japan, meanwhile, scored 18 runs on 26 hits with six home runs.
On a positive note for the Americans, their defense was spectacular. There were plenty of textbook-perfect plays along with an incredible home run-robbing catch from Janie Reed. Here's this great two-out catch from outfielder Michelle Moultrie to keep the game scoreless in the second:
In Tuesday's winner-take-all final, Japan's star pitcher Yukiko Ueno shined on the mound. Uneo, 39, was also the winning pitcher in 2008. She pitched six scoreless innings and held Team USA to just two hits while striking out five. Team USA had the combination of Cat Osterman, Monica Abbott and Ally Carda on the mound, but the trio wasn't enough to stop Japan from piecing together clutch hitting and two-out rallies.
With the victory, Japan establishes itself as a softball powerhouse, joining its rival United States as the only two countries to have captured Olympic gold. With Team USA's silver medal, the country earns its fifth total medal in softball, the most of any nation.
Japan's 39-year-old Yukiko Ueno was dominant once again on the international stage. In 2008, Ueno pitched 28 innings (413 pitches) in two days to lead her team to the top of the podium, and in 2021, Ueno returned to form. In Tuesday's game, she retired eight straight batters and was settled into a rhythm long before the USA bats could get anything going. After Ueno gave up a leadoff single in the sixth inning, she departed the game only to return in the seventh to close out the victory by retiring the side in order.
Entering the game, it seemed as if the only thing standing between Team USA and an avenging gold medal win was the legendary Uneo. Well, that turned out to be just the case. Now, included in Uneo's historic Olympics resume: two gold medals, the only seven-inning perfect game (2004 Athens), and a record (also set in 2004) that might never be broken of 15 1/3 consecutive innings without giving up a hit.
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Post by Admin on Jul 31, 2021 6:53:23 GMT
Japan vs. USA - Full Softball Gold Medal Match - Beijing 2008 | Throwback Thursday
Enjoy this look back at the full women's gold medal match from the Summer Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing, China. The Women's final was a tough match between Japan and the USA.
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Post by Admin on Aug 14, 2021 19:19:11 GMT
MIC'D UP with Team USA Softball! Kelsey Stewart takes us inside a game before the Olympics!
Right before Team USA headed to Tokyo for the Olympics, we got to hang out with them for one of their games leading up to it! We mic'd up Kelsey Stewart, the starting 3B for Team USA! She takes us behind the scenes and gives us the lowdown on everything going on from the field!
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Post by Admin on Aug 31, 2021 2:07:14 GMT
Japan 🇯🇵 vs USA 🇺🇸 | Softball Gold Medal Match 🥇 | Tokyo Replays
Japan claimed second-straight softball gold over Team USA, while Canada grabbed historic bronze. Japan scooped their second-ever gold medal in Olympic softball with a 2-0 win over three-time gold-medal winners the United States in Yokohama.
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