Softball at the Olympics – a Preview
The Softball Tournament at the Olympic Games in Beijing is starting on Tuesday, August 12. It seems that this could be the last time, we see the sport at the Olympics, because the IOC decided to kick Softball out of the games alike Baseball for London 2012. Eight countries will compete for the gold medal with one big favorite. In 2004 Team USA won the title for the third time in the third edition of the event at the Olympics. They outscored their opponents 51-1 during the games and there was never a doubt they would not finish in first. They won the gold medal through a 5-1 victory against Australia in the finals.
And the United States are the heavy favorite in Beijing too. It is them against the rest of the world. On paper their team is filled with all stars on every position. The pitching staff is led by Jennie Finch and Cat Osterman. Offensive wise Jessica Mendoza is probably the best hitter in Softball at the moment. Their biggest rivals for gold, if you can say even that, should be Japan and Australia. Also in the tournament are Canada, Taiwan, Venezuela, China and as the only European participant, the Netherlands.
The Dutch Baseball and Softball Federation in addition with the national Olympic committee invested much in the preparation of the Netherlands Women Softball Team. They went twice on trips to the United States and once to Japan to get as much playing time as possible. They didn’t qualify for the last two Olympics, with host Greece and Italy the European participants in Athens 2004. In June 2007 the Dutch team won the Qualifier against Italy 3-2 in extra innings to clinch the berth for the games in China.
Head coach Liz Kelly nominated a roster mixed of young talent with experienced players to find success in the tournament. The pitching staff is led by Judith Van Kampen, Rebecca Soumeru and Kristie De Vries. They hope for hits, runs and RBIs by Noemi Boekel, Britt Vonk, Kim Kluijskens and others to make a good impression on their return to the Olympic stage. The two exhibition games in Japan against fellow participants Japan and Canada indicated that they might have problems to produce enough runs to have a chance and they are one of the underdogs, beginning on Tuesday, August 12 at 17:00 (local time) against host China.
Netherlands Women Softball Team Official Website
Complete Schedule Olympic Softball Tournament
Game Day 1 Tuesday August 12:
09:30 Taiwan – Canada
12:00 Venezuela – USA
17:00 Netherlands – China
19:30 Japan – Australia
