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U.S. uses home run hitting to power past Oklahoma State
By Julie Bartel // USA Softball // March 25, 2008
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. --- Backed by three home runs including back-to-back home runs from Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.), the USA Softball National Team shutout Oklahoma State 7-0 tonight at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla. Starting and winning pitcher Alicia Hollowell (Suisun, Calif.) completed a solid three innings for Team USA with five strikeouts, allowing no runners to reach base. The U.S. improved to 15-0 on the tour outscoring opponents 149-3.
Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) led off the second inning, putting the team on the board with a home run that hit the left foul pole. Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) hit a double down the right field line and scored when Lovie Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.) earned her 10th RBI of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour with a single up the middle to put the Red, White and Blue up 2-0.
The team doubled the score in the third when Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) homered to centerfield. Bustos repeated her second inning performance with a shot to left field, for her 7th home run of the tour. This is the second-consecutive game that a player has hit back-to-back homeruns with Jenny Topping (Whittier, Calif.) hitting two out last week against the University of New Mexico at the Judi Garman Classic.
The Cowgirls threatened to score in the top of the fourth inning after back-to-back singles, off USA pitcher Lisa Fernandez (Long Beach, Calif.), were issued to Oklahoma State’s Alysia Hamilton and Kim Kaye. With the Cowgirl fans on their feet, Megan Castle ripped a line drive to left field looking for Hamilton to score, but the arm of Mendoza torched her out at home.
In the sixth, the team tacked on three more runs when Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) drew a walk from OSU pitcher Sarah Odom. Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) entered in to pinch run and would reach third when Jung singled to center field. A solo shot to right field from Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.) plated Berg. A Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.) single to right field was good for two RBI, scoring Kretschman and Jung, giving USA Softball a 7-0 win.
After entering in the top of the fourth, Fernandez allowed three hits with three strikeouts.
The team will continue its stop in Oklahoma City with the No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. and conclude with a double header on Wednesday, March 26th against Virginia Tech and No.18 DePaul.
For complete coverage of USA Softball, please log on to www.usasoftball.com.
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/.
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