Highlighting the USA Softball Olympic Teams: 2020 Tokyo

Photo courtesy USA Softball

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to include softball as a part of the program for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The vote was held on Oct. 16, 2023 and softball, baseball, cricket, lacrosse and flag football were the sports added to the official Olympic program for Los Angeles.

With the news, Extra Inning Softball is reviewing all five of the previous teams that have worn the red, white and blue during Olympic competition.

USA Softball has fielded Olympic teams in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2020.

This is the fifth of a five-part series highlighting USA Softball Olympic teams.

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2020 Beijing Olympic Games

Venue: Fukushima Azuma Baseball Stadium, Tokyo, Japan

Head Coach: Ken Eriksen

Roster: Ali Aguilar, Monica Abbott, Valerie Arioto, Ally Carda, Amanda Chidester, Rachel Garcia, Haylie McCleney, Michelle Moultrie, Dejah Mulipola, Aubree Munro, Bubba Nickles, Cat Osterman, Janie Reed, Delaney Spaulding, Kelsey Stewart

Countries Competing at the Olympics: Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Mexico, United States

Format for Olympic Play: The softball tournament featured a single round-robin of the six teams in which each team plays one game against each other. The top two teams advance to the gold medal game, while the third and fourth-place teams will compete for the bronze medal. Rankings in the round-robin stage are determined by win/loss percentage, with additional tie-breakers being head-to-head record and run differential.

The Eagles in Preliminary Play: The United States began its quest for a fourth gold medal with a 2-0 victory over Italy. Cat Osterman and Monica Abbott dominated the Italian team holding them to one hit over seven innings while striking out a combined 12 batters. Janie Reed and Michelle Moultrie drove in runs for Team USA. Abbott took center stage in game two as she limited Canada to one hit leading the Eagles to a 1-0 victory. Amanda Chidester, who finished the game 2-for-4, drove in the lone run of the game. Team USA improved to 3-0 in the tournament by posting its third consecutive shutout in a 2-0 victory over Mexico. Osterman went 6.0 innings and permitted just one hit, while Abbott pitched the final inning to seal the victory. Chidester hit a walk-off double in the eighth inning lifting the Eagles to a dramatic 2-1 win over Australia to improve to 4-0 in the tournament. Australia plated a run in the top of the eighth inning, but Chidester lined a double that scored Ally Carda and Haylie McCleney with the winning runs. Abbott went the distance in the circle as she held Australia to three hits and struck out 13 batters. The Eagles capped round-robin play with a dramatic 2-1 win over Japan as Kelsey Stewart hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Team USA fell behind 1-0, but tied the score at 1-1 on an RBI single from Valerie Arioto. With the win, Team USA secured a berth in the gold medal game against Japan.

The Medal Round: The United States faced Japan in its first game of the medal round and Abbott and Yukiko Ueno locked in a pitching duel. Scoreless into the top of the ninth inning, Bustos belted a three-run home run and Caitlin Lowe also added an RBI in the ninth lifting Team USA to a 4-1 victory over Japan. Australia used home runs from Sandy Lewis and Danielle Stewart to beat Canada 5-3 in the opening game of the medal round for each team. Japan needed 12 innings, but edged Canada 4-3 to advance to the gold medal game against Team USA.

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