This article is the fourth part in a series on Milligan softball in preparation for Sunday’s game with the U.S. Olympic team.
By Wes Holtsclaw (wholtsclaw@starhq.com)
Some have called the current United States Olympic softball team the greatest women’s fast-pitch team ever assembled.
It would be hard to find an argument proving otherwise.
This Sunday, the Mike Candrea-coached squad, which features many of the sport’s icons and brightest stars, makes its first appearance in this area as part of its ‘Bound 4 Beijing Tour.’
The Olympic team will face Milligan College in front of a sellout crowd at Johnson City’s Cardinal Park in what is certain to be the biggest softball game in the history of the region.
Johnson City is the 26th of 64 stops the U.S. team will make throughout the country to prepare themselves for the upcoming Olympic games in China.
Here is a look at the United States team and the ‘Bound 4 Beijing Tour’ through Tuesday:
U.S. ROSTER
The names of three pitchers stand out when looking at this year’s team. Osterman, Finch and Abbott.
They’re the best in the world, and they lead a team of experienced veterans into this summer’s games looking for the United States’ fourth gold medal.
Osterman, a former Texas standout, will be making her second Olympic appearance. She has made the start in the team’s previous three World Championship games.
Finch, one of the most popular female athletes on the planet, has won two world titles and will be looking for her second Olympic gold in her seventh consecutive year on the team. She made two appearances in the 2004 games, striking out 13 in eight innings of work.
Abbott, of course, is the youngest member of the squad coming out of the University of Tennessee making her first appearance on the Olympic team.
She led the team’s pitching staff in 2007 with a 6-0 record for a 0.00 ERA. She issued no walks and no runs a year ago. Abbott stood at 4-0 on the tour through Tuesday’s game.
The team isn’t just centered around its pitching. Team USA features several additional prominent Olympic standouts.
Laura Berg is the lone three-time Olympic gold medalist on the team and one of the world’s top outfielders. Crystl Bustos, who broke Olympic records in 2004 with five homers and 10 RBI, will be searching for her third gold.
There’s also players such as Caitlin Lowe, a former Arizona standout whose been prominently featured as the team’s leadoff batter the past three seasons, and outfielder Jessica Mendoza, who has been one of the team’s top run producers since 2001.
Stacey Nuveman returns as catcher after missing the 2007 season due to the birth of her son. She had the only hit in the 2000 Olympic gold medal game and smacked a homer in the 2004 finale.
The team is coached by Candrea, perhaps the nation’s premier head coach from the University of Arizona.
The Americans have a record of 24-4 over its previous three Olympic Games, including an unblemished 9-0 mark in Athens while outscoring opponents 51-1.
B4B TOUR
The team’s current tour has featured many expected results. But one major surprise has had the softball world talking.
U.S. won its first 17 games in the event, including a 16-0 rout of defending national champion Arizona, before suffering it’s first pre-Olympic tour loss since 1996 to Virginia Tech on March 26th.
Earlier in the day, the squad hammered DePaul 23-0 before suffering the no-hit, 1-0 loss to the Lady Hokies in Oklahoma City.
Since, the team rebounded with a 21-0 win over New Mexico State and a 10-3 win over Houston.
Tonight, the squad faces North Carolina-Greensboro before making the trek to Knoxville for a tilt at Tennessee Saturday.
Abbott is expected to make the start in Knoxville against her former teammates with Osterman or Finch slated for Sunday’s game in Johnson City.
Following their game with Milligan, Team USA has games lined up against Alabama, Mississippi State, UCLA and Michigan, to name a few, before winding its tour down.
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