Contact Us | Top Stories | Classifieds | Local News | Obituaries | Sports | Subscribe | Business Directory | >> Log in or Register  




Akron Racers give U.S. softball team a scare

Associated Press

AKRON — The U.S. Olympic softball team needed a tough test before leaving for China. Angela Tincher and her teammates made sure they got one.

Tincher, the Virginia Tech star who pitched a no-hitter against the world’s best team in March, gave up just one run in her three innings but the U.S. warmed up for its gold-medal run in Beijing by rallying for a 6-2 win over the Akron Racers on Tuesday night before an overflow crowd of more than 6,000 fans.

Kelly Kretschman snapped a 2-2 tie by driving in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and Andrea Duran followed with a three-run homer off reliever Jamee Juarez as the U.S. improved to 57-1 on its “Bound 4 Beijing” tour. That lone loss came on March 26 at the hands of Tincher, who dominated the three-time defending gold medalists for seven innings, a performance that ended the U.S. team’s 185-game winning streak in pre-Olympic exhibitions.

Tincher went seven innings back then, but a long season limited her to just 59 pitches.

“I wish I could have pitched more,” said Tincher, who failed to make the U.S. roster during tryouts last September. “But this was fun just having a lead early against a team like this. I was happy with three innings.”

For Tincher, it’s about as close as she may ever get to the Olympics. Because the International Olympic Committee voted softball off the 2012 program for London, Tincher and other top players may never get a chance to represent their country on the sport’s biggest stage. The IOC will vote next year on putting softball back in the games for 2016.

“It’s disappointing,” she said. “We’ll still have a national team and that’s still a goal of mine to get on that team.”

Monica Abbott (16-0) settled down after giving up a two-run homer to Kristen Butler in the first inning. The Americans will play their Olympic opener on Aug. 12 against Venezuela.

With that date quickly approaching, U.S. coach Mike Candrea was hoping his team would be challenged by the Racers, professionals who play in the National Pro Fastpitch league. Akron gave the Americans all they could handle, jumping to a 2-0 lead on Butler’s homer and nearly matching the U.S. pitch for pitch until the seventh.

“It couldn’t have gone better for us,” said Candrea, who guided the U.S. to gold four years ago in Athens, where they outscored the competition 51-1. “You have to be a good starter and a good finisher at the Olympics. It was good for us to get down and have to fight our way back. This team never quits. This does a lot more for us than those 19-0 games. I hope we can get a couple more like this before we head over there.”

Although the U.S. had won its last 15 games with shutouts, there was no intimidation factor for the Racers, who came in 14-14 this season in NPF. After Tincher set down the side in order in the first, Akron’s Veronica Wootson led off by slapping a single through the middle that clipped Abbott’s left shin on its way to the outfield grass.

One out later, Butler, a third-year pro who played at Florida, launched a 1-1 pitch over the fence in left that made it 2-0 and prompted Candrea to get Cat Osterman loose in the bullpen.

Candrea, who used a four-woman pitching staff in Greece, is bringing only three pitchers to China. He dropped Lisa Fernandez, considered the best women’s player in history, from his final roster and kept both the three-time gold medalist and Alicia Hollowell as alternate players for Beijing.

Abbott allowed three hits, struck out 10 and got stronger as the game progressed.

“Little shaky at the start,” she said. “But we changed some things up and I was able to get into a good rhythm. This was a big game for us, and now we just have to tighten a few things up.”

Natasha Watley and Jessica Mendoza had RBI singles for the U.S., who drew the third-largest crowd on its barnstorming tour.

The U.S. got one run back in the third, but had a second one thrown out at the plate.

With the score tied 2-2, Olympic rookie Caitlin Lowe beat out an infield single off Radara McHugh and Mendoza walked. Crystl Bustos, who won an NPF title with the Racers in 2005, moved Lowe to third with a fly to right and Kretschman greeted Juarez, who played at Ohio State, with her run-scoring single.

Duran, one of five first-time Olympians, then pulled her 23rd homer of the tour over the fence in left to make it 6-2.

“This was great preparation,” she said. “It’s always good to be put in the cooker. To play a top pro team is great for us because they are going to be comparable to the teams we face in China.”
 


Filed by Associated Press July 23rd, 2008 in Sports.

Popularity: 3%

Email this story Email this story
Print this story
Read comments and discuss this story
Report an innappropriate comment

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.
You must be registered and logged in to post a comment. If you aren't already registered, click here. If you are registered, click here to log in.

Write a Comment




.