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Thursday, September 21
Fernandez gives up homer in 13th
Associated Press
BLACKTOWN, Australia -- The U.S. softball team can no longer
afford to worry about revenge.
Lisa Fernandez gave up a two-run homer Thursday as Australia
rallied in the bottom of the 13th inning to win 2-1, leaving the
United States reeling after a third straight loss.
|  | | Lisa Fernandez retired the first two batters in the bottom of the 13th inning before Peta Edebone's homer. |
Fernandez struck out 25 and gave up just two hits. But the
Americans were unable to score until Christie Ambrosi's RBI single
in the top of the 13th, scoring the tie-break runner who is placed
at second base to start every inning after the ninth.
Fernandez retired the first two batters in the bottom half of
the inning before Peta Edebone hit it over the left-field wall for
two runs to send the Australian crowd into a frenzy.
While the Aussies dropped to the ground in exhaustion around
home plate, the Americans retreated to the dugout, crying.
The Americans should still make the medal round, but they would
have to win five consecutive games to win the gold.
"I don't think I've ever been a part of a bigger challenge than
we're in right now," said Fernandez, who had allowed just one hit,
one walk and one single before the homer.
It was the third consecutive U.S. game that was scoreless into
extra innings, and the third that ended with the defending Olympic
champions looking dazed.
"It's like this voodoo that's over us," Ambrosi said. "But
it's got to end sometime."
The three-game losing streak is a stunning turnaround for a team
that had won 112 in a row heading to Sydney and has never lost
three straight international games.
The last U.S. loss, before this week, had been to Australia at
the 1998 world championships. The Americans' only loss at the '96
Olympics came when Australia's Joanne Brown homered off Fernandez
with two outs in the 10th to spoil her perfect game.
"I was sitting in the locker room, thinking, 'It can't happen
again.' But one thing about Atlanta is, we won the gold,"
Fernandez said. "Take these games and give me the gold medal."
Fernandez retired Brown on a groundout for the second out of the
13th on Thursday before Edebone homered.
"I can now understand the emotions Joey went through in 1996,"
Edebone said. "It's a feeling that takes over you. When I rounded
third and I looked at my teammates at home plate all crying, I
burst into tears."
The history was enough to make Thursday's matchup the focus for
both teams. But the game became increasingly important when both
teams lost to Japan -- and then the Americans lost to China, which
has yet to play Australia.
The top four in the eight-team tournament advance after the
round-robin. But the medal round is set up so that the third and
fourth place teams would have to win an extra game to win the gold
medal.
Having lost to the top three teams in the standings, the
Americans -- heavy favorites coming in -- are likely headed for
fourth. They will have to beat non-contenders New Zealand and Italy
in the round robin and then win three straight in the medal round
to win the gold.
After the game, a fire alarm went off and Olympic officials
asked everyone to vacate the stadium. But the stadium crew
continued its cleanup work as firefighters walked through the
stands.
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