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Jung Leads U.S. to 5-1 Victory
By Holly Krivokapich // USA Softball // May 7, 2008
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - On a brisk Michigan night, the U.S. Women’s National team captured another KFC Bound 4 Beijing victory with a 5-1 defeat of the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines. With 2,507 fans packed into a standing room only crowd at Alumni Field, second baseman Lovieanne Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.) led the U.S. (29-1) going 2-for-3 with three RBI. From the circle, Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) tallied the win going six innings recording 11 strikeouts while allowing three hits and one earned run.
“This game was good for us,” said head coach Mike Candrea. “These are the games that help us and tonight I thought we responded well. Cat did a pretty good job and if you go through the ups and downs a little bit before you get to Beijing it will help us in the long run.”
Getting off on the right foot, Michigan starter Jordan Taylor accounted for all outs in the first starting out with a line drive beamed at her by Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.), shocking even the freshman herself. She rounded out with a strikeout and groundout to keep the USA bats a bay.
Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) was the first one to reach base in the second inning when she drew a walk and advanced to second on a single shot by Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) that veered past Taylor. Bustos scored on a sac fly by Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) but the real excitement of the second inning came when Jung drove a ball to centerfield for a two-RBI home run to take the lead.
“It was awesome to see great pitching and that is what I expect when we face a good college team,” said Jung. “I was successful tonight because I was watching the at bats before me and I was watching her change up on certain counts and that is what I hit on the home run.”
Michigan gave the team a scare in the third when Roya St. Clair drew four balls to start the third inning and would head to second when Teddi Ewing reached on a fielder’s choice. Osterman attempted to throw out St. Clair missing her mark to Jung, but stellar back up play by Lowe kept the runners at first and second. Osterman however made it up with three straight strikeouts to keep the score at 3-0.
Jung went deep in the count in the fourth inning to add on to her RBI total by hitting a single up the middle to score Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.) who ripped a double to right center field to lead off the inning.
After issuing strikeouts to six of eight batters starting in the third, Osterman’s no hitter was broken by Ewing who laid down a bunt to reach first in the fifth inning.
Kretschman tacked on another run in the sixth inning when she drove in the second home run of the game, a solo shot that cleared the bleachers to give the team a 5-0 lead.
Osterman allowed another bunt single to start off the sixth and with that Michigan went with their attack plan of laying down a sac bunt. However the quickness and arm of Tairia Flowers (Tucson, Ariz.) threw out the runner at second for an out. Samantha Findlay then drew the second walk of the game before Maggie Viefhaus ruined any chance of a shutout with a single blooper to right centerfield to score Angela Findlay for a 5-1 ball game.
Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) came in to pitch the final inning with Osterman earning her sixth win of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour.
The U.S. totaled six hits in the contest while Kretschman earned a 2-for-3 night.
Heading east, the U.S. will travel to Williamsport, Pa. on Wednesday following practice in Ann Arbor. The U.S. will take the field against ASA Regional All Stars on Thursday evening at the Williamsport Crosscutters Stadium at 7 p.m. EST.
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/.
About KFC Bound 4 Beijing Tour
The KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour is a 45-city nationwide pre-Olympic tour for the USA Softball Women's National team as they prepare to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Beginning in February, the tour reaches every corner of the country including 23 states while Team USA prepares with 62 total games. The tour consists of five consecutive weekly national televised games on ESPN2 in April and May along with two other bonus games plus four games slated for July that rounds out over 22 hours of original USA Softball branded programming on the ESPN family of networks. Along with the title sponsor, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), other national tour sponsors include Dermabond and Lumber Liquidators.
About DERMABOND Adhesive
DERMABOND Adhesive is a topical skin adhesive used by doctors in the O.R. and E.R. to close incisions from surgeries or wounds from injuries. DERMABOND Adhesive may not be right for all types of wounds such as those that are infected or wounds on the eyes, mouth, scalp or joints. Tell your doctor about any skin sensitivities. Your doctor will know if DERMABOND Adhesive is right for you. For more information go to DERMABOND.com.
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