Japan pounds Team USA in Paradise

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

•	TODAY Noon — Australia vs. Japan 2 p.m. —Canada vs. China 5 — China vs. Japan 7 — USA vs. Australia

In last year's inaugural tournament at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium, Team USA plowed past all opposition, as it often does. Its pitchers gave up one unearned run in four days and its hitters had an answer for every scoring situation.

The dominance lived on yesterday morning, as the U.S. blasted Canada, 7-0, in the 2002 opener. Three pitchers combined on a four-hitter, retiring the last 14 batters and generally picking up where they left off.

But a sequel of shutouts proved to be an illusion. Japan, shut out three times here last year, ran away from the U.S., 6-1, later in the day. It scored five runs in the second inning, the final three on Ito's blast over the left-field fence.

"I concentrated very good," Ito said through an interpreter. "I was just trying to get a hit."

In between the U.S. split, Australia overtook China, 8-4, in eight innings, then fell to Canada, 3-2. Before a crowd of 618 (tickets sold), Australia started former University of Hawai'i pitchers in both games.

Brooke Wilkins, who lifted the Rainbow Wahine into the NCAA Regionals 1994 and '95, started against Canada and took a shutout into the sixth. She was relieved by Tanya Harding with no outs and the bases loaded. Kim Sarrazin immediately hit a two-run double to tie the game. Then former UH-Hilo All-American Kristy Odamura beat out an infield single with two outs to bring in the winning run.

Wilkins allowed just one earned run and five hits. She walked one and struck out four.

Felicity Witt, who pitched for UH as a freshman in 2001, started for Australia in the second game. Witt gave up four runs in five innings, but her team rallied for two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to tie the game. Australia, which scored only three earned runs in this tournament last year, got four more in the first extra inning to win.

The gold-medal game is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday. Games begin today at noon, with the U.S. and Australia scheduled to play at 7 p.m. That's all U.S. coach Mike Candrea wanted his team to be thinking about last night.

"Everybody has something to prove — to ourselves," Candrea told his players after the loss. "On days like this, I like to take a real good look at myself.

"It feels crappy. But think about it, evaluate it, learn from it for five minutes. Then get ready for tomorrow."

The loss, in a rematch of the 2000 Olympic gold medal game, was hardly typical, though it started that way.

Japan's Hiroko Sakai walked Natasha Watley to open the game. Watley quickly scored on a bunt and Jessica Mendoza's double. Japan caught up just as quickly and put this game out of reach even faster.

Olympian Michele Smith, who has played professionally in Japan the last 10 years, looked lost from the first pitch against all those familiar faces. Four walks and a wild pitch helped Japan tie the game in the bottom of the first without a hit. When Japan's first three batters singled to start the second, Amanda Freed was brought in to relieve, down 2-1 with runners on the corners.

"They're very strong and I got myself in trouble," said Smith, MVP of the Japan League in 1994, '97 and '98. "I couldn't find my pitches, couldn't find my groove. I have to do better than that. It's just one of those nights."

Freed got one out when third baseman Lisa Fernandez grabbed Misako Ando's suicide squeeze bunt and tagged/tackled Yumi Iwabuchi before she got to the plate. But after a wild pitch, Kazue Ito lined a sacrifice fly, cleanup hitter Haruka Saito walked and Sachiko Ito launched her homer to make it 6-1. In a tournament with five of the world's premier teams, that is all but insurmountable.

Sakai allowed just two more hits. Only one more American reached third despite a series of line drives.

The U.S. has stumbled before, under much tougher conditions. On the way to the gold medal in Sydney, the U.S. lost three straight games, its worst streak ever.

"Ultimately, when it counted, we won," Smith said. "That's what this team has to learn to do, too. We're a little bit young and we have a red target on our back."

SHORT HOPS: After its second game, the U.S. team, ranked No. 1 in the world the last 15 years, was off to international drug testing. ... Australia won bronze in both Olympics since softball has become a medal sport. The Australians also finished third in last year's inaugural U.S. Cup, then went on to finish second at the Canada Cup, defeating the U.S. Red team twice. ... Japan, which finished last here last year, won the 2001 Canada Cup. ... Australia's national team was named April 29. It has nine Olympians including Brooke Wilkins. Felicity Witt will make her World Championships debut later this month. ... Kelly Gentle, another former UH pitcher, is on the 23-player Australian national team, but did not make the 17-player travel roster. ... Current Rainbow Wahine Kate Judd and Stacey Porter, and former teammate Melissa McGie, are on the Australian Development Squad. ... Catherine Osterman, whose pitching lifted the U.S. to last year's U.S. Cup championship, did not make the national team this year, but was selected to the USA Elite Team, which will compete at next week's Canada Cup. Osterman just finished her freshman year at the University of Texas. ... Mike Candrea of the University of Arizona will coach the team through next year's Pan American Games and the 2004 Olympics. ... After the Canada Cup (July 12-21), these teams go on to the ISF Women's World Championships, July 26-Aug. 4 in Saskatoon. The top four teams there qualify for the Games in Athens, with the winner getting top seed. ... The average age of the U.S. national team is 25.1 – 2 1/2 years younger than that of the 2000 Olympic team.