Australia's Kerry Wyborn hits a solo home run to tie the game in the top of the seventh inning tonight against Japan.

AUSSIES CAPTURE BRONZE; USA & JAPAN WILL VIE FOR GOLD
2008-08-20

BEIJING, CHINA -- Extra innings were the order of the day as the four playoff teams locked horns in Fengtai Softball Field. Despite being involved in both "overtime" games, which saw them play the equivalent of three full games (21 innings), Japan advanced to tomorrow evening's gold medal game against Team USA (6:30 p.m. local time). The bronze medal was decided tonight and went to Australia, the 2004 Olympic silver medalists who'd won bronze in 2000 & 1996.

Making their first-ever Olympic softball playoff appearance, Canada finished in fourth place, dropping a 5-3 decision to the Aussies this afternoon.

Among other VIPs, tonight's bronze medal game was attended by International Olympic Committee President Dr. Jacques Rogge and former IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch.

The Olympic News Service provided this recap of today's three playoff games...

The United States scored four runs off previously untouchable Yukiko Ueno of Japan in the ninth inning to defeat Japan 4-1 at the opening semifinal game at Fengtai Softball Field on Wednesday.

The victory slots the Team USA into the gold medal game on Thursday.

Ueno and American Monica Abbott, the only two pitchers to throw perfect games in the Olympic Softball competition, kept each other's team scoreless through the first seven innings of regulation play and the first extra inning.

Under the provisions of the International Softball Federation's tie-breaker rule for extra innings, a team at bat starts their half of the inning with a runner already on second base.

U.S. shortstop Natasha Watley, who made the third out in the previous inning, was straddling second base in the ninth inning when Caitlin Lowe sent a ground ball up the middle of the infield past shortstop Rei Nishiyama. Lowe's single brought home Watley with the game's first run.

Designated player Crystl Bustos opened the floodgates two batters later with Lowe on second base and fellow slugger Jessica Mendoza on first. Bustos sent a knee-high pitch soaring up into the left field stands to bring home three more runs.

Japan tried to rally in the bottom of the ninth, opening with a near-duplication of the U.S. teams's ninth inning start. With Motoko Fujimoto on second base, pinch hitter Sachiko Ito hit a ground ball that escaped Abbott, Watley, and second baseman Lovieanne Jung and rolled into center field to score Fujimoto.

United States coach Mike Candrea countered by replacing Abbott with Cat Osterman in the pitching circle. She duly closed down the Japan offense, retiring the next three batters in a row to preserve victory for the USA.

Winning pitcher Abbott gave up three hits and one walk in eight innings while striking out 11 batters. Osterman was credited with two strikeouts.

Losing pitcher Ueno worked all nine innings. She gave up six hits and two walks while striking out eight batters.

In the next game, a scrappy Australia took advantage of nearly every scoring opportunity it got to defeat Canada, 5-3.

The semifinal victory kept Australia alive in the tournament but ended play for Canada.

Sandy Lewis put Australia ahead 1-0 in the second inning when she hit a Lauren Bay Regula pitch into the left field stands with nobody on base. Australia picked up another run in the third inning when Belinda Wright scored from third base on Lewis' sacrifice fly out.

Canada responded in the third inning by forcing starting pitcher Melanie Roche from the pitching circle with three runs on just two hits. Two walks by Roche and a throwing error by catcher Natalie Titcume proved to be the Australian pitcher's undoing.

Relief pitcher Tanya Harding forced in one run, charged to Roche, with another walk. Alison Bradley singled home two more runs before the final out of the inning.

Danielle Stewart tied up the game in the fourth inning when she parked a one-run home run in the same part of the stands as Lewis two innings earlier.

Australia took the lead back for good in the top of the sixth inning. Stewart and Wright scored on Kerry Wyborn's single to left field.

Harding got the win for Australia. She pitched four and one-third innings, giving up no runs, two hits and one walk. Harding had no strikeouts.

Bay Regula suffered her third loss of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. She pitched all seven innings, giving up five runs on five hits and five walks. She struck out nine batters.

Canada finished the tournament with three victories and five defeats.

In the nightcap, Rei Nishiyama drove Masumi Mishina home with the winning run as Japan defeated Australia, 4-3, in a marathon 12-inning bronze medal game.

The victory catapulted Japan into Thursday's gold medal grand final with the United States and gave Australia its third bronze medal in four Olympic appearances.

Under the provisions of the International Softball Federation's tie-breaker rule, a team at bat from the eighth inning forward starts their half of the inning with a runner already on second base. With Japan and Australia deadlocked at 3-3, Mishina started the 12th inning on second base. She advanced to third when Yukiyo Mine reached first base safely on Stacey Porter's fielding error.

Two batters later, pitcher Tanya Harding gave Ayumi Karino an intentional walk to load the bases with one out. The strategy backfired when Nishiyama stepped up and poked a single out to right center field that scored Mishina.

Kerry Wyborn had forced the game into extra innings, when she hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game at 2-2.

Yukiko Ueno, who earlier in the day lost a nine-inning decision to Team USA, pitched the full 12 innings for the victory over Australia. She gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks, striking out seven batters. Ueno pitched the equivalent of three seven-inning regulation games Wednesday.

Losing pitcher Harding came in for Justine Smethurst after five innings. Harding pitched six and one-third innings, giving up two runs, six hits and three walks while striking out two batters.

Australia finished the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games with six victories, three losses – and a bronze medal.

RF = runs for, RA = runs against