LAST OLYMPIC SPOT GOES TO VENEZUELA
2007-08-23

Venezuela will make their first-ever Olympic Softball appearance at next year’s Games in Beijing, following their triumph at the Americas Qualifier that they hosted in Valencia. The eighth and final team to qualify for next year’s competition in China did so by sweeping Puerto Rico in the best-of-three series, 9-0, and then 4-0.

Puerto Rico, who had defeated Venezuela, 7-6, on Tuesday during round robin play, was seeking their first appearance back in the Olympics since women’s fast pitch softball debuted at the Games in Atlanta in 1996. Puerto Rico had to rebound from a 7-0 loss to Cuba earlier that day. The Cubans were trying to get back to the world’s stage after having played in 2000 in Sydney but then missed out in 2004.

The first game yesterday featured a complete-game (six innings) no-hitter by Venezuela pitcher Mariangee Bogado, who struck out six and walked just one. Offensively, Jineth Pimentel led the charge with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, scoring two runs and driving in five, highlighted by a solo home run in the sixth inning. Two runs were scored in the top of the first, followed by three more in the third, and four in the sixth.

In the second game Venezuela scored all four of their runs in the bottom of the third inning, fueled by a two-out, two-run home run by shortstop Denisse Fuenmayor.

The Venezuelan women’s national softball program has shown great advances over the last couple years. In late 2005 the team won the bronze medal at the 14-team VI Pan American Softball Championship for Women. They won the gold medal at last year’s Central American & Caribbean Games, which was followed by a share of the silver medals at this year’s Pan American Games.