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In winning, U.S. softball may lose

Associated Press USA’s starter Cat Osterman throws against China in their women’s softball preliminary game in Beijing. Softball is not slated to be part of the 2012 games in London. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
By Brian Gomez Colorado Springs (Colo.) Gazette
Associated Press USA’s starter Cat Osterman throws against China in their women’s softball preliminary game in Beijing. Softball is not slated to be part of the 2012 games in London. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

BEIJING – The more the Americans win, the deeper softball falls into its own grave.

At this rate, the sport never will get back in the Olympics.

The United Sattes continued its dominance Monday at the Beijing Games with a 9-0 victory over China in 4 1/2 innings, another lopsided result not helping softball’s quest to show it belongs on the world’s biggest stage.

Softball won’t be contested at the 2012 London Games, and the International Softball Federation’s campaign for inclusion in the 2016 Olympics might prove meaningless if the Americans continue doing what they do best.

In seven wins, the U.S. has outscored opponents 53-1, belted an Olympic-record 13 home runs and batted .377 behind power hitters Crystl Bustos, Lovieanne Jung and Kelly Kretschman.

Pitchers Monica Abbott, Jennie Finch and Cat Osterman have combined to give up five hits and hold opponents to an .042 batting average with 56 strikeouts in 39 innings. The only run the U.S. allowed, against Canada, was unearned.

It’s easy to see why most contend the International Olympic Committee dropped softball — baseball also got dumped in 2005 — because the U.S. is so good that even countries with established programs like Australia, China and Japan aren’t competitive.

“We hope that’s not the reason,” said ISF president Don Porter, aiming to propel softball onto the 2016 program during an IOC assembly in October 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Porter could need a reality check.

The U.S. has won all three gold medals in Olympic softball history. It is 31-4 at the Olympics, with 21 consecutive wins since the 2000 Sydney Games.

At the world championships, the U.S. is 106-10 with seven golds and two silvers. It has seven golds off a 78-3 record at the Pan American Games and two golds and a silver from a 15-2 mark at the World Cup of Softball.

“They lost three games in Sydney,” Porter said. “They came close to elimination in the middle round and then came back and got back into contention for the medal round. They’re beatable, but not too often. We’re hopeful that the other teams get better so that they have that chance of being up at the top.

“I can’t really say that the best thing to happen is for them to lose. It’s up to them. They want to win. We don’t want to say that we want the U.S. to go out and lay down. That’s not fair to the athletes.”

Osterman contends Olympic games aren’t cakewalks.

“The games are getting closer and closer,” she said. “By no means are we absolutely running over everyone. I think people need to take notice of that more.”

Asked if the U.S. not winning gold would save softball, catcher Stacey Nuveman said, “There’s no athlete in the (Olympic) village, on the planet that goes in hoping to lose. Would that help the cause? Who knows? We’re going for a fourth gold medal.”