U.S. Women Finally Get Going With Two No-Hitters In Softball

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) _ Another day, a couple more no-hitters. <br/><br/>When the U.S. women finally got onto the field at the Pan American Games after two days of delays caused by bad weather and

Thursday, July 26th 2007, 8:05 am

By: News On 6

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) _ Another day, a couple more no-hitters.

When the U.S. women finally got onto the field at the Pan American Games after two days of delays caused by bad weather and poor field conditions, they made the most of it. In wins over Brazil and Colombia on Wednesday, the world champions didn't allow a hit.

Plus, Andrea Duran had a grand slam as the Americans stretched their Pan Ams winning streak to 53 games by beating Brazil 7-0 and Colombia 4-0.

This year, the United States has built an 18-game success string in international play and won two major events in the last month: the World Cup of Softball and the Canada Cup.

Star pitcher Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) got the first start of the tournament and fanned 11 in four innings before Alicia Hollowell (Suisun, Calif.) struck out all three batters in the fifth. Then the game with Brazil was called by the mercy rule. Laura Berg of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., was the only American with two hits.

``Under the circumstances I think we played well. The kids were very resilient and they did want they had to do,'' said manager Mike Candrea. ``There were very sloppy field conditions and I don't think I have ever played on a field that bad. However we had good pitching and got the runs we needed.''

They had to return in the slop to face Colombia, which only put up moderate resistance. Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.), fanned 12 in five innings, then Jennie Ritter (Ann Arbor, Mich.) closed it out with five strikeouts in two innings.

``It's good to finally get out there after two days of canceled games and then the delay this morning.,'' Abbott said. ``It's nice to get some games under our belt and I think the team played well today.''

Duran (Selma, Calif.) accounted for the runs with a grand slam in the third.

``I was focusing on sitting back on the slow pitches and that seemed to pay off today. Our pitchers threw a great game and it was great to be able to contribute some runs,'' Duran said.

In the third, the U.S. team loaded the bases. Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) bunted safety, Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) and Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.) both walked. Duran cleared the bases with her home run to left field, her first career grand slam as a member of the national team.

Cuba and Canada are expected to provide the major tests for the Americans in Rio. The United States has won every Pan Ams gold medal since 1987 and has won 74 of 77 games in that span. In those 77 matches, the Americans have outscored opponents 516-31.

Back from the 2003 gold medal squad are Berg, Finch, Bustos, pitcher Cat Osterman (Houston), utility player Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.), second baseman Lovie Jung (Riverside, Calif.), outfielder Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.), utility player Jenny Topping (Whittier, Calif.) and shortstop Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.).