GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Team USA pitcher Lisa Fernandez pitched a no-hitter against Canada in the championship game of the 2003 U.S. Cup yesterday at UH Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.
Fernandez unhittable
in title gameThe Americans capture the
U.S. Cup for the third year in
a row by cruising past Canada
The U.S. softball team never looked vulnerable in the 2003 U.S. Cup as it mowed down its first six opponents with ease. On the final day of the tournament, the defending champions had to battle boredom for the championship.
Road to victory
Game results for Team USA this week at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium2003 u.s. cup
Thursday: def. Hellas 11-1
Thursday: def. Chinese Taipei 7-0
Friday: def. Hellas 13-3
Friday: def. Canada 12-1
Saturday: def. Chinese Taipei 1-0
Saturday: def. Canada 10-0
Yesterday: def. Canada 6-0
Not surprisingly, Team USA won. Before 521 at Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium, the U.S. shut out Canada 6-0 yesterday to clinch its third straight Cup. A combination of phenomenal pitching and hitting helped the U.S. make light work of a young and relatively inexperienced Canadian team. Team USA finished 7-0 for the week. The Canadians were 3-4.
"When you play weekends like this where you basically dominate the opponent, the one thing you have to be concerned with is your energy level when you come into the championship game," Team USA coach Mike Candrea said. "I just told them there's only one way to play this game. Play it hard and play it the right way and part of that is having that energy. When special athletes have energy, we can dominate."
Lisa Fernandez made sure the U.S. wasn't susceptible to a letdown. The fiery Fernandez tossed a no-hitter and fanned 11 in yesterday's championship. Only two Canadians reached base and none moved into scoring position. Fernandez tagged Erin Cumpstone with a pitch in the third inning and Jackie Lance got on base with two out in the seventh on a muffed throw that should have been the final out of the game. It didn't matter as Fernandez struck out Erin White to end it.
"The thing I focus on the most is to do my job and that's to prevent people from getting on," said the two-time Olympic gold medalist. "I was a little disappointed that I hit a player. ... This team is extremely talented. We have a good core from last year's team that won the world championships with a couple of additions onto this team. It's been exciting to see them bring a new dimension to the team. This team is definitely different than the teams I played on in the past."
Canada coach Mike Renney noticed.
"They're the best. I've been to both Olympics before, '96 and 2000, and that's the best team they've ever had," Renney said. "They've got the power. They've got the speed. They've got the depth. They've got the pitching. In the past they've had power, but they haven't had that kind of speed. Now they have the speed to go with it. They can bring any of the sticks they have on the bench. In the game, you think when do we get a soft hitter? They don't have any soft hitters."
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Team USA baserunner Crystl Bustos slid safely into second base ahead of the tag of Team Canada shortstop Angela Lichty in the 2003 U.S. Cup championship game yesterday.
Fernandez and Canada starter Ani Nyhus had an interesting duel going for the first three innings. Both retired their first six batters but Nyhus didn't have the defense to back her up. The U.S.'s northern neighbor committed three errors to hurt its cause.
Crystl Bustos doubled to center in the fourth and advanced to third after a throwing error by shortstop Angela Lichty. Bustos rounded the bases on Fernandez's sacrifice fly to right. Tairia Mims (2-for-3, four RBIs) drove in Nina Lindenberg and Jamie Clark with a double to right before Lovieanne Jung and Laura Berg flied out to end the inning.
Team USA added three more runs in the fifth. Jessica Mendoza lined a double up the middle. Leah Amico laid down a sacrifice bunt and reached first after third baseman Cindy Eadie misfired the throw and hit Amico in the back. Amico took off for second and Mendoza scored off the throw. Bustos singled and reached second on a fielding error. With the bases loaded and two out, Mims was clutch again. She smacked a two-run double to left that scored Bustos and Amico.
"The difference in that game was a couple of errors," Renney said. "Our pitcher was doing a bang-up job. She was keeping the batters on edge, which is her responsibility. We made a couple of untimely errors and that's the kind of team, it's going to sting when you make mistakes like that. They draw a little blood and they're going after you."
Chinese Taipei defeated Greece 1-0 to take home third place in the Cup. Sheng-Jung Lal gave up four hits in seven innings and Chinese Taipei (3-4) scored in its final at-bat to prevent extra innings.
Notes: The top seven hitters in the tournament were all from Team USA, with Fernandez topping the chart at .875. ... The U.S. hit .434 against Canada in this tournament. ... For the tournament, Fernandez pitched 14 scoreless innings as the U.S. pitching staff held its opponents to five runs and 14 hits. ... Yesterday's championship was the finale for the U.S. Cup until 2005. The team will play a mainland tour in 2004, an Olympic year. The U.S. travels to Canada next month for the Canada Cup from July 5-13.
