OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. --- In pre-Olympic exhibition play, the three-time Olympic gold medal USA Softball team defeated Olympic host China, 7-0 in five innings, today at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. Jennie Finch (La Mirada, Calif.) was the go to in the circle this weekend with a 3-0 record with a start and two wins in relief while Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.) went 4-for-8 in three games with a team-high seven RBI and timely hitting.

The U.S. wasted no time to take a lead putting up four runs in the bottom of the second inning.

Andrea Duran (Selma, Calif.) put up her 62^nd RBI of the tour to give the U.S. the lead with no outs in the second inning. The third baseman roped a single up the middle plating pinch runner Vicky Galindo (Union City, Calif.) who entered for Crystl Bustos (Canyon Country, Calif.) who was hit by a pitch. Kretschman, currently hitting .422, earned a walk prior to Duran’s hit putting runners ready to score for Stacey Nuveman (La Verne, Calif.) who drove in her fourth home run of the tour to left center giving the home team a solid 4-0 lead.

“Today we came out prepared and focused and played the way USA Softball should play,” said USA Softball Head Coach Mike Candrea. “The thing we have to get in our minds is that we have to come out every day ready to execute our game so we can bring home a gold medal.”

Speed started the U.S. in good fashion in the bottom of the third inning with two infield hits from Caitlin Lowe (Tustin, Calif.) and designated player Galindo. But new Chinese pitcher Yu Hui Li and her defense left the runners stranded with two fly outs to close the inning.

A hot hitting Nuveman put her second hit of the game to the right field line with a double to lead off the fourth inning. A single from Lovie Jung (Fountain Valley, Calif.) moved Nuveman pinch runner Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) to third base before a walk to Watley loaded the bags. Lowe then drove in the fifth run for the U.S. with a single scoring Berg. RBI leader Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo, Calif.) then roped a two–RBI double to give the U.S. a 7-0 advantage. As China is an International opponent, the game only went five innings due to the run-ahead rule in International play.

With Finch heading near a perfect game in the fifth inning, China saw their only base runner when Li Chun Xia singled to left field to break up Finch’s perfect game.

In her first start of the weekend, Finch allowed only one hit with five strikeouts to extend her tour record to 14-1. She came in for relief earlier in the weekend against Team NPF and Canada to help the team earn two wins.

With less than 20 games on the schedule for the remainder of the tour, the team will now head to Topeka, Kan., for a game against the Topeka All-Stars. Continue to check out http://www.usasoftball.com/ for complete coverage of USA Softball.

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.

Article take from http://www.usasoftball.com/news.asp?uid=3821&p=303