[Alsfastball] Three-Peat is Complete

[Al Doran]

Three-Peat is Complete

When the 2004 U.S. Olympic Softball Team was selected in September, Coach 
Mike Candrea made two statements to his players – ‘If you train the way you 
are capable, you have the potential to be a “Special” group’ and ‘I don’t 
just want to win, I want to dominate!’

Both of those statements came true during the 2004 Olympic Games. The 
performance by the U.S. Olympic Softball Team will go down in history as 
one of the most dominant ever. The U.S. squad led by Candrea is certainly 
the best women’s softball team ever assembled and possibly the most 
dominant Olympic team of any sport. With its perfect 9-0 record and its 
string of eight consecutive shutouts, this team proved it was indeed 
something ‘Special’.

Just a month prior to the opening of the Olympic Games, the USA Softball 
family lost someone very special when Sue Candrea, wife of head coach Mike 
Candrea passed away suddenly while on tour with the USA team.  Coach 
Candrea made the decision to carry on and lead his team in Athens because 
he knew that is what Sue would have wanted. The team placed ‘SC’ on the 
back of their helmets and wore black wrist bands with Sue’s initials 
stitched on them to honor her during the Games.

Kicking off its defense of its Olympic gold medal on August 14, winning 
pitcher Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) completed three innings in a 7-0 
run-rule victory against Italy allowing just one hit.  Lefties Lori 
Harrigan (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) also saw 
action from the circle while lead-off hitter Natasha Watley (Irvine, 
Calif.) tied the Olympic record for most hits in a game going 4-for-4. 
Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.) and Jessica Mendoza 
(Camarillo, Calif.) each contributed two hits a piece.

Up next, the U.S. had to run the gauntlet facing its three toughest 
opponents in Australia, Japan and China in consecutive order.  These three 
teams were responsible for the USA’s three consecutive losses in Sydney and 
all had reached the medal stands in the past two Olympic Games.

With veteran Lisa Fernandez (Long Beach, Calif.) in the circle, the U.S. 
exploded for 10-runs against the Aussie contingent for its second run-rule 
victory of the games. The 10-0 win was the most decisive U.S. victory over 
Australia in the history of this storied rivalry.

Totaling nine hits, the U.S. bats were unstoppable as the play of Fernandez 
led the way.  After allowing just one hit from the circle, the 5’6” legend 
helped her cause from the plate going with a 2-for-3 with three 
RBI.  Catcher Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) added fuel to the fire with 
the first U.S. long ball of the tournament in the bottom of the fourth 
sending a three RBI shot to centerfield.  Leah O’Brien- Amico (Chino Hills, 
Calif.) added a two RBI base hit as the U.S. completed one of its best 
performances in Olympic history.  The last time they had scored 
double-digit runs in the Games was the first game in 1996 when they 
defeated Puerto Rico 10-0.

A re-match of the 2000 gold medal game saw the U.S. and Japan battle into 
extra innings. A pitcher’s duel between Osterman and Japan’s Juri Takayama, 
the 6’2” rookie performed as a veteran lifting the U.S. to a 3-0 victory 
with 11 strikeouts.

Back and forth through the regulation seven innings, with chants of ‘USA’ 
echoing throughout the stadium, the tides changed as the international tie 
breaker rule opened the top of the eighth. This rule allows the last batter 
out from the previous inning to be placed on second base. Pinch- runner 
Amanda Freed (Cypress, Calif.) entered for the U.S. at second base before a 
successful sacrifice bunt from Nuveman placed Freed at third with one out.

An incredible at-bat that included 17 pitches, Lovieanne Jung (Fountain 
Valley, Calif.) battled Takayama before being issued a walk to put runners 
on the corners. Jung’s at-bat was actually extended when Japan third 
baseman Reika Utsugi failed to make a routine play on a foul ball due to 
the bright sunlight.

Coming through in the clutch, Kretschman drove a sacrifice fly to 
centerfield to plate Freed and give the U.S. the run it needed. With the 
momentum in its favor, the U.S. added two insurance runs thanks to hits 
from Mendoza and pinch-hitter Jenny Topping (Whittier, Calif.) for the 
eventual 3-0 win.

Improving to 4-0, the U.S. remained solid through round-robin play battling 
China to a 4-0 victory on August 17.  Two-time gold medalist Lori Harrigan 
(Las Vegas, Nev.) recorded the third one-hit performance of the Games for 
the U.S. as it strolled along outscoring opponents 24-0 through the first 
four games.  Against China, Topping led with a 2-for-2 outing while Jung 
stepped up with a huge first inning two RBI single to left field.

With just three games remaining in round-robin play, the U.S. needed one 
more win to secure a spot in the medal round and two wins to assure itself 
of a medal.

Against Canada the USA continued to dominate it opponents with a 7-0 
run-rule victory to improve to 5-0 and secure a spot in the medal round. 
The win marked the third run-rule victory for Team USA and its fifth 
consecutive shutout.

With its fourth one-hit performance, Finch led the U.S. against Canada with 
eight strikeouts while the bats provided seven runs on 11 hits. 
Back-to-back home runs by Bustos and Fernandez provided the offensive 
highlights for the Red, White and Blue but Canada had a scoring opportunity 
of its own.

In the top of the fourth inning, Canada advanced a runner to third base on 
the U.S. for only the second time in five games. An infield base hit by 
Kristy Odamura followed by a fielding error by Jung put runners on the 
corners with no outs but the U.S. silenced the rally with two strikeouts 
and a play at the plate that saw Jung redeem herself with a solid throw to 
Nuveman to nail Odamura at home.

Fernandez once again utilized her skills on both sides of the field in game 
six, leading the U.S. to its fourth run-rule victory with a 7-0 win against 
host Greece. Going 2-for-2 from the plate with an RBI, as well as, a 
one-hit performance from the circle, Fernandez moved Team USA to 6-0 and 
guaranteed the U.S. its third consecutive Olympic medal.

“We know the tradition of USA Softball and we came to Athens to win gold,” 
said Mendoza. “Anything less would be a huge disappointment and 
unacceptable for the standards set for us.”

A 3-0 win over World bronze medalist Chinese Taipei in its final game of 
round-robin play moved the U.S. into the play-off round as the top seed. 
Through seven games in round-robin competition, the USA outscored its 
opponents 41-0 and held opposing hitters to a .080 batting average.

In the opening round of the playoffs it was the U.S. versus arch rival 
Australia once again. Fernandez, who has a long history against the Aussies 
in Olympic competition, was on top of her game, leading from the circle 
with a three-hit complete game performance.

A pitcher’s duel through the first three innings, Fernandez had a clutch 
hit to put the U.S. on top 1-0 in the fourth inning. Three insurance runs 
were added in the fifth when Bustos connected on a bases loaded single and 
Nuveman provided a sacrifice fly. A solo home run by Kretschman provided 
the final run of the game for the USA.

With the win, the U.S. moved into the gold medal game for the third 
consecutive Olympic Games and awaited the winner of Japan/Australia in the 
bronze medal game. Although they had dominated through the first eight 
games, they refused to buy into the hype and knew a poor performance in the 
gold medal game and their Olympic gold medal dreams would be over.

“It’s not how you start, its how you finish,” said U.S. veteran Fernandez. 
“This team has played really well this week but now we must be ready to 
play our best game on Monday.”

A 3-0 win by Australia in the bronze medal game set up a rematch between 
the USA and Australia for the third time in these Games. This marked the 
first time Australia made an appearance in the gold medal game of any 
Olympics and the first time the U.S. had faced Australian’s Tanya Harding 
since she defeated them in the 2000 Olympics.

Despite her prior success against the U.S. in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, 
Harding was no match for the powerful bats of the U.S. The game was never 
in doubt as the Americans powered past the Aussies with three home runs and 
a 5-1 victory. Bustos homered in the first and third innings while Nuveman 
also smashed a homer in the third. Bustos’ home run in the third inning 
measured over 300 feet and is the longest home run in Olympic history.

Fernandez was masterful in the circle to complete the Games with a 4-0 
record and emerge as the unofficial Most Valuable Player. Although the 
Australians ended the USA’s shutout streak with a single run in the sixth 
inning, the gold medal was all that mattered and it went to the USA for the 
third consecutive time.

“This team is the best I have ever been associated with,” said Candrea. 
“They are a ‘special’ group that will go down in history as the most 
dominate team to ever take the field. All of the countless hours spent in 
the weight room and on the practice field finally paid off for this 
exceptional group of athletes.”

Below are the Olympic Records Broken by Team USA during the 2004 Olympic Games:

OLYMPIC RECORDS BROKEN

.
--- Most Doubles: 11- USA (2004) 


.. .Was 10- Australia (1996)
--- Most Triples: 4- USA (2004) 


... 
.Was 2- Japan (1996)
--- Most Runs Batted In: 46- USA (2004)
..Was 32- USA (1996)
--- Most Runs Scored: 51- USA (2004) 

.Was 41- USA (1996)
--- Fewest Runs Allowed: 1- USA (2004)
...Was 7- Australia, China and USA 
(2000)
--- Most Stolen Bases: 8- USA (2004)


.Was 7- Japan (2000)
--- Most Shutouts: 8- USA (2004)




Was 5- USA & China (2000)
--- Most Stolen Bases: 5- USA, Natasha Watley (2004)

Was 3, Jackie Smith, 
N. Z. (2000)
--- Most Consecutive Victories: 9- USA (2004)

 Was 8, Japan (2000)
--- Highest Team Batting average: .343 USA (2004) 
.. Was .296- USA (1996)
--- Highest Slugging %:  .559 USA (2004) 


Was .465- JAPAN (1996)
--- Most Hits: 73 USA (2004) 




. Was 70- USA (1996)
--- Lowest Earned Run Average: 0.12 USA (2004)


. Was 0.25- USA (2000)
--- Highest Batting Average: Lisa Fernandez .545 USA, (2004)

.Was .524 
(Chika Kodama, Japan (1996)
--- Most Home Runs: 5, Crystl Bustos  USA (2004) 

..Was 4, Haruka Saito, 
Japan (1996) & Peta Edebone, Australia (2000)
--- Most Runs Batted In: Crystl Bustos, 10 (2004) ..Was 9, Shelia Cornell, 
USA (1996)
--- Most Runs Scored: 9, Chanfung Zhang, China (1996) TIED
. Crystl Bustos, 
9 (2004)
--- Most Wins: 9 – USA (2004) 

Was 8 – USA (1996) & JAPAN (2000)






Brian McCall

Director of Communications

ASA/USA Softball

405-425-3463

<mailto:bmccall at softball.org>bmccall at softball.org

www.asasoftball.com or www.usasoftball.com









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