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Countdown to Beijing '08 - Softball outlook
// USOC Media Services // October 3, 2006
Outlook
The USA Softball Womens National Team sent a message at the recent World Cup of Softball that it would be ready to defend its Olympic gold medal in two years at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. After being embarrassed in 2005 by Japan at the inaugural World Cup, the U.S. left no doubt it is still the team to beat at the upcoming World Championships and ultimately in Beijing.
Japan took the first World Cup in 2005 with a 3-1 win in the championship game and followed up the win by defeating the U.S. again a month later in the championship game of the Japan Cup. Following the losses the U.S. regrouped and began a training regiment in November that was used to get the team ready for 2006.
The training has paid off so far in 2006, as the U.S. took back the World Cup with a perfect 6-0 record that included a 5-2 win over Japan in the finals. During the competition, the U.S. played with the same confidence and swagger as it had in Athens during its run to the gold medal. The team dominated its opponents in a similar way by outscoring the opposition 59-3 in just six games.
Although the USA roster for the Olympic Games will not be set for another two years, it is apparent that this group of athletes is ready to carry the torch for the Red, White and Blue. Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) may be the only three-time Olympic gold medalist on the current roster but there is still a wealth of talent and experience competing for a spot in Beijing. The 2006 roster still includes 11 players from the 2004 Olympic Games and five players who could have up to four years of national team experience by the 2008 Olympics.
One lingering question for this Diamond Dynasty is whether or not three-time Olympic gold medalist Lisa Fernandez (Long Beach, Calif.) will make a return to the USA line-up in 2007 and ultimately at the 2008 Olympic Games. Fernandez, who many consider as the best all-around athlete to ever play the game, is currently on a two-year leave from the team after giving birth to her first son, Antonio, in 2005, but is still actively involved in training camps with the current team.
If Fernandez decides to pass the torch on to the players of the future and forgo a fourth Olympics, Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) and Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) appear ready to take over as the top pitchers for the United States. Osterman, the 2006 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, was brilliant in her final year at Texas and was dominate at the 2006 World Cup for Team USA.
Osterman shut down 2004 Olympic silver medalist Australia and Japan, the defending World Cup champions, to help bring the World Cup back to U.S. soil. In 14 innings of work, she allowed only one earned run, five hits and fanned almost half the batters she faced (21-of-43). Still one of the younger members on the USA roster, Osterman is clearly the ace of the pitching staff at this point.
Finch, who is gave birth to her first son, Ace, on May 4, is quickly returning to form and will be a key to the USAs success at the upcoming World Championships. In her first start of the year, Finch shut down the Houston Thunder from the National Pro Fastpitch League (NPF) by allowing only four hits in 5.2 innings and striking out 12 of the 22 batters she faced.
If the recent World Cup of Softball is any indication, Osterman and the rest of the pitching staff should have lots of support both defensively and at the plate. During the World Cup, the U.S. committed only two errors in 32 attempts for a .985 fielding percentage. U.S. leftfielder Jessica Mendoza had as many RBIs during the World Cup as the entire Japan team with 16 in just six games. She was almost unstoppable, going 11-for-18 (.611) with a double and three home runs. Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.), who will be a senior at the University of Arizona in 2007, has taken over the lead-off spot in the lineup and for good reason after going 11-for-21 at the World Cup.
The ISF World Championships in Beijing, China, August 27-September 5, showed where the USA stands with two years left before the Olympic Games. USA dominated the tournament, taking home gold and claiming the top seed for the 2008 Olympics. The victory gives Team USA its sixth consecutive World Championship and its fourth consecutive No. 1 seed at an Olympic Games.
After being embarrassed on their own soil in 2005 at the World Cup, the USA seems hungrier than ever to prove they are still the top team in the World and the one to beat when the teams take the field at the 2008 Olympic Games.
Storylines
Players to Watch:
Cat Osterman LHP Houston, Texas
Jennie Finch RHP La Mirada, Calif.
Jessica Mendoza LF Camarillo, Calif.
Crystl Bustos 3B Canyon Country, Calif.
Caitlin Lowe RF Tustin, Calif.
Natasha Watley SS Irvine, Calif.
Laura Berg CF Santa Fe Springs, Calif. (only three-time gold medalist on the roster)
Stacey Nuveman C La Verne, Calif.
Will Lisa Fernandez return to the USA Roster after maternity leave for a run at a fourth Olympic gold medal?
Cat Osterman the new face of USA Softball possibly the most dominate pitcher in the game today!
Jennie Finch returns to USA squad just two months after the birth her for first son, Ace Shane Daigle, on May 4.
Bustos Bombs How good is Crystl Bustos? Many say she is the best hitter to ever play the game Can she lead the USA to a fourth Olympic gold medal?
Combination of speed and power could be formula to a fourth Olympic gold medal the USA has added speed at the top of its line-up that opponents are finding hard to deal with and the power hitters they cant avoid.
Where does softball go from here? With the sport of softball being eliminated from the Olympic Games following the 2008 Olympics whats next for the sport? Many say the World Cup of Softball is just the answer.
Can the 2008 USA Softball team duplicate the success of the 2004 U.S. Softball Olympic Team that had one of the most memorable performances in Olympic history?
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