USA Softball set to play Japan in the Gold Medal Game
BEIJING, China — The USA Softball team will face Japan on Thursday, August 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the Gold Medal Game at Fengtai Stadium as they look to make Olympic history with a fourth-consecutive gold medal. Earlier today the U.S. defeated Japan in semifinal action with a heart-pumping 4-1 nine inning victory. The loss then moved Japan to the Bronze Medal game where they battled through 12 innings with Australia before capturing the contest 4-3 to advance the Gold with Australia taking home bronze. In the second semifinal, Australia took a 5-3 victory over Canada who was eliminated from competition following the loss.
The USA will be the designated home team by virtue of a coin toss and the game will be televised LIVE on the USA Network at 6:30 a.m./ET.
This will mark the second time USA has played Japan in the Olympic Gold Medal Game as they met in 2000 in Sydney where the U.S. defeated Japan 2-1 in eight innings.
The U.S. met up with Japan in the gold medal game in the following competitions since the 2004 Games: 2005, 2006, 2007 World Cup and the 2006 World Championships. The U.S. proved success in all but the 2005 World Cup final where they were defeated by Yukiko Ueno and crew in a 3-1 loss.
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About ASA
The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 83 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.
About USA Softball
USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive as well as claimed two World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com/.