SOFTBALL

SOFTBALL
U.S. keeps rolling,tops Greece 7-0
XATHENS, Greece -- Still one game and two days away from the medal round, the U.S. softball team already has clinched a bronze.
Thanks, but give it to someone else. These Americans are digging for something far more precious.
"None of this matters," said outfielder Laura Berg, "if we don't win gold."
The U.S. continued its romp through the eight-team field Thursday with a 7-0 victory in five innings over Greece.
Three-time Olympian Lisa Fernandez pitched a one-hitter, Leah O'Brien-Amico had two RBIs and so did Jessica Mendoza, who also flattened Greece catcher Stacey Farnworth while getting thrown out on a play at the plate.
"My dad's a football coach," Mendoza explained. "The genes kicked in right there."
Fernandez allowed just one hit and two baserunners as the Americans (6-0) made quick work of Greece, posting their sixth straight shutout and fourth win shortened by the "run-ahead rule."
The Americans ran their winning streak to 76. Teams are batting just .070 against the U.S. staff of Fernandez, Cat Osterman, Jennie Finch and Lori Harrigan. The Americans have outscored opponents 38-0.
The U.S. has out-homered the rest of the field, 4-3. Already, the U.S. has scored more runs in six games (38) than it did in 10 (25) in 2000. And heading into today's game with Taiwan (2-4), the U.S. team's batting average of .348 is more than double its .171 mark at Sydney.
"Our offense is on fire," said O'Brien-Amico, one of four holdovers from 2000. "We couldn't buy ourselves a hit in Sydney."
Although the U.S. team led only 1-0 after three, the rout seemed inevitable. It became reality on Mendoza's RBI single in the fifth.
Greece, playing in its first Olympics, never really had a chance. Ginny Georgantas, an Illinois native who played at South Florida, had Greece's only hit, a single to left in the fifth off Fernandez.
"Highlight of my life," she said, smiling.
Associated Press
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