Japan celebrates their Olympic gold medal on the field immediately following the final out in tonight's win over the Americans.

JAPAN CLAIMS OLYMPIC SOFTBALL GOLD
2008-08-21

BEIJING, CHINA -- Similar to the saying that records are made to be broken, all streaks in sports will at some point end. That was the case tonight at the 2008 Summer Olympics as the USA's streak of three straight gold medals in softball was stopped by Japan. The 2004 bronze medalists this time made it to the top, dethroning their long-time international softball rival with a 3-1 win in Fengtai Softball Field before another packed house.

The Olympic News Service provided the following account of the historic evening...

Japan pulled off a huge upset in the world of softball, and perhaps one of biggest in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, defeating the previously unbeatable United States.

Japan put the first run of the game on the board in the third inning. Ayumi Karino beat out a ground ball hit deep to shortstop, allowing Masumi Mishina to score from third base. It was the first earned run given up by any of the Team USA pitchers in the tournament.

The second earned run came when Japan's center fielder Eri Yamada dropped one of Cat Osterman's pitches over the center field fence to lead off the fourth inning.

The United States got one run back in the bottom of the inning. Leadoff batter Crystl Bustos connected with a Yukiko Ueno pitch and pumped it into the right center field stands. The home run was Bustos's sixth of the Games and the 14th in her Olympic career, both Olympic records.

But the wheels came off for the U.S. team in the top of the seventh inning. Two errors, including one on a play at the plate by relief pitcher Monica Abbott, enabled Megu Hirose to score Japan's third run and end the USA's domination of the sport at the Olympics.

Ueno, who pitched 21 innings over two games Wednesday to get Japan into the gold medal game, picked up the victory after losing to Team USA the previous day. She pitched all seven innings, giving up one run, five hits and two walks. She struck out four batters to win her fifth game of the tournament.

Osterman shouldered the loss for the pre-tournament favorites, her first of the Games. She gave up two runs on three hits in five innings, striking out nine batters. Abbott gave up one run and two hits in two innings of work, striking out three batters.

Japan finished the tournament with a record of eight victories and two losses to capture its first gold medal in softball. They won the silver medal at the Sydney 2000 Games and the bronze four years ago in Athens.

The United States took home its first non-gold medal in four Olympic tournaments. The silver medalists completed the tournament with eight wins and one loss. The loss to Japan marked the USA's first in Olympic competition in nearly eight years, when Australia defeated them 2-1 on September 21 during the Sydney 2000 Games. Australia won the bronze medal here in Beijing.

RF = runs for, RA = runs against