U.S. completes softball domination

By STEVE RIVERA

Gannett News Service

ATHENS, Greece - The United States softball team is golden - again.

Team USA concluded its domination at the Athens Olympics by defeating Australia 5-1 at Helliniko Stadium on Monday, giving coach Mike Candrea a gold medal just five weeks after his wife, Sue, died of a brain aneurysm.

It was the third consecutive gold medal for the United States, and its most overpowering.

``This team got it done and got it done it grand fashion,'' said USA starting pitcher Lisa Fernandez, who beat Australia three times in the tournament. Team USA outscored Australia 20-1 in the three victories and outscored all its opponents by a combined 51-1. ``This is the best team to ever put on the red, white and blue. Not just because of the scores and how we beat our opponents, but more importantly the way we did it.''

Candrea said the team has been his ``rallying point'' in dealing with his wife's death.

``They've been very inspirational for me,'' he said. ``I continued to rub my wedding ring throughout the game. I had a dream last night, and Sue walked into the room and told me to chill out.''

Fernandez, who's played on all three gold-medal teams, said she was determined to win for Candrea.

``If there was one thing that I prayed to God to help him, it was to play the best softball I could play,'' she said. ``That was the one piece of solace that he was going to have to get him through this time. That's the one thing I set my sights on, knowing how important this game is to him.''

All week as Team USA was dominating its opponents en route to a 9-0 record, players and coaches said they had not played a perfect game. Monday, despite giving up its first run of the tournament in the fifth inning, ending a scoreless streak of 55 2/3 innings, the United States showcased its best. At least it was to Candrea's liking, playing exactly how he had hoped it would under tough championship conditions. Team USA hit three home runs, a record for the gold-medal game, and tying the record for most in any game.

The U.S. set 10 other Olympic records in the sweep, including most runs (51), hits (79), lowest earned run average (0.12) and most home runs (seven).

``There's two things I told this team: I thought they could be special,'' Candrea. ``That they could leave a legacy that no other team has. And the second one was I think this team could be dominant. It's a brave statement, but we brought it in, and this team rose to the occasion. I can't complain about a darn thing they did this whole week.''

The United States had Australia from the start, scoring two runs in the first inning off former UCLA pitcher Tanya Harding, who went into the game with a 4-0 record and not having allowed a run in 33 innings.

``Tough day at the office,'' Australia coach Simon Roskvist said.

Crystl Bustos hit a two-home run, scoring former Leah O'Brien-Amico, who singled a batter before. Bustos homered again in the third, hitting the first pitch nearly 300 feet, well beyond the 220-foot fence. Stacey Nuveman followed with a solo homer two batters later.