MIDLAND, MICHIGAN (JUne 21, 2008) Left-handed pitcher Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) tossed a one-hit performance on Saturday afternoon at Currie Stadium as the USA Softball Women’s National team cruised to a 14-0 shutout over the Midland Lady Explorers. Improving to 48-1 on the KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour, the U.S. scored in four of six innings as 5,023 fans enjoyed the sunny afternoon game.
“It was nice to come out and have a good performance today,” said Osterman. “I have been working on a lot of stuff in practice and it was nice to see the improvement and have a consistent outing.”
Osterman (11-0) tallied 11 strikeouts in 19 batters faced with catcher Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) who was 2-for-3 with one RBI. Third baseman Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) had a remarkable day going 4-for-4 with three RBI. Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Springs, Fla.) was 2-for-4 with four RBI including two doubles.
“Things went ok today,” said Bustos. “I put the bat on the ball but never really got a hold of one, but I will keep working. But hey, it’s always good to have a 4-for-4 day.”
Bustos roped in her 70th RBI of the tour in the first inning giving the U.S. a 1-0 advantage. Left-handed slapper Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) beat out a play at first base to give the U.S. its first hit of the contest and then stole second base before scoring on the Bustos hit.
The U.S. opened up the game in the bottom of the third inning scoring four runs on five hits and one Lady Explorers error. Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) laid down a base hit bunt to begin the inning and then stole her 18th base of the tour moving quickly to scoring position. Lowe moved Watley to third with a ground out before Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) doubled to left field for the 2-0 lead. It was another two-bagger for the U.S. as the next hitter Bustos connected on her second hit in as many at bats with an RBI plating Mendoza. Two more runs would score for the 5-0 lead with an Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) RBI single and a fielding error from the Lady Explorers first baseman.
Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.) sent a base clearing stand-up double to left center in the bottom of the fourth inning scoring three runs for the 8-0 advantage. The bases were loaded thanks to a walk from Lowe and singles from Mendoza and Bustos. One more run gave the U.S. a solid 9-0 lead with an RBI single from Lovieanne Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.) scoring Kretschman.
Kim Cozat saw the only hit of the game for the Midland Lady Explorers in the top of the fifth inning when she connected on an Osterman pitch that she drove through the left side.
Five runs in the fifth inning was what the U.S. put up as they moved to the eventual 14-0 victory. A new Midland pitcher in Stacy Kraatz, the U.S. used five hits and two Explorer errors to add the five runs to the stat sheet. A leadoff single from Lauren Lappin (Anaheim, Calif.) jump started the drive before she would later score on a Bustos single. Kretschman then recorded her second double scoring Mendoza who earned a base on balls. Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.) had an RBI single then to score another run while a wild pitch plated Kretschman. The final run was the product of a Nuveman single that plated Galindo.
The U.S. is headed to Ashland, Ohio on Sunday afternoon for competition on Monday evening in Ashland. Game time is 7 p.m.
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