ATHENS, Greece - In a preliminary-round game they had circled on their calendar, the United States softball team routed Australia on Sunday, 10-0, to avenge a pair of 2-1 losses in the previous two Olympics.
Pitcher Lisa Fernandez did not record a strikeout, but she gave up just one hit in a game that was called because of international softball's mercy rule.
"When you face someone the quality of Australia, you expect to scrap it out," Fernandez said. "This is a good show for us, and a good way to get our confidence up."
Slaughtering opponents will do that. In two games thus far, the U.S. has outscored Italy and Australia, the 2000 silver medalist, 17-0.
Shortly after Prince Albert of Monaco threw out the first pitch, the Americans, who are favored to win a third straight gold medal, went up 2-0 on a Fernandez double, forcing a first-inning pitching change.
Australia squandered an opportunity to score in the third inning, and the Americans took advantage in the fourth, scoring eight runs on seven hits in the inning. After Kelly Kretschman scored on Natasha Watley's single to short, Leah O'Brien-Amico's single to center scored two more runs, giving the U.S. a 5-0 lead.
Watley and O'Brien-Amico scored, then Stacey Nuveman smacked a three-run homer over the center-field wall, and was met at home plate by her jubilant teammates.
Afterward, Mike Candrea, the U.S. coach, told his team: "Great job, but we've got a long way to go." In another preliminary round Monday, the United States plays Japan, which also beat them, 2-1, in Sydney four years ago.
"I know it's a round robin, but we want to win," Fernandez said. "This is something that's been marked."
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