USA softball takes silver

I didn't watch the softball gold medal match (it was on at 6:30 this morning), but when I woke up I was surprised to find that Japan had taken the gold. The USA softball team has been undefeated up until this point in the 2008 olympic games, and they were undefeated in Athens when they took the 2004 gold medal. With batting averages in the .400-.500 range, ERAs of 0.00, two no-hitters, one perfect game, six shutouts, and an 8-0 record, Team USA was only one game away from taking their fourth olympic gold medal. Kind of reminds you of the Patriots.

I really did not expect Japan to pull this one off. Their pitching ace, Yukiko Ueno, pitched three complete games over the course of two days to take this gold. I thought her arm would have fallen off by now. In the semifinals between the US and Japan, the game went into extra innings, tied 1-1 until the 9th when Crystl Bustos hit a homerun to give the USA a 4-1 win. In the bronze medal match between Japan and Australia, the game again went into extra innings. It was a long, back and forth game that finally ended 4-3 in the 12th, ending Australia's run with a bronze medal. And then today, in Japan's third and most important game against USA in Beijing, Japan took their first win against the Americans, taking the gold medal, and leaving USA with the silver. Yukiko Ueno pitched every single at bat in all three of these games. Unbelievable.

I'm sad for Team USA. Softball won't be in the 2012 Olympics, so even if they have it in 2016, most of the players on the 2008 team have played their last Olympic softball game. It's a tough way to go, but a great win for Japan.