The US scored nine first-inning runs to beat China 9-0 to move within two wins of another gold medal in Olympic softball.
Stretching their winning streak to 21, the US (7-0) tied an Olympic record — one of the few they did not already own — with the nine-run outburst in the first, which included Kelly Kretschman’s three-run homer, three doubles, three singles and two pitchers.
All the runs came after two were out. Kretschman even had two strikes on her before the outfielder, who has the New York Yankees’ interlocking “NY” logo tattooed on her ankle, smashed a pitch over the fence in right for the US team’s 13th homer.
PHOTO: AP
Next up in tomorrow’s medal round for the Americans is Japan (5-1), a team they beat 7-0 earlier in the Beijing tournament.
The US have now recorded six shutouts, with five of them ending in the fifth by the international run-rule. With two games still to play, the Americans have outscored the field 53-1 (the run against Canada was unearned), bettering their 51-1 mark in Athens.
Cat Osterman pitched three shutout innings and Jennie Finch took care of the final two.
Earlier, the Netherlands ended their first Olympic tournament by getting their first win, 4-2 over Taiwan. The Dutch (1-6) are leaving China enriched by the experience and eager to spread softball’s word in Europe, where it is still growing and where it needs to expand to help the sport get back in the Games.
“This can only help,” shortstop Sandra Gouverneru said. “I’m not sure I can wait another eight years to play in another Olympics, though. It took me 12 years to get here.”
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
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