US softball team blows its chance

The United States softball team blew it. It needed to tank a game in pool play just to show the rest of the world and the International Olympic Committee that the United States can be beat.
Instead, the team mercy-ruled nearly every one of its oppponents. The only game that went the distance was a 8-1 win over Canada in its second game. At least the United States trailed 1-0 in that game and kept it close until the sixth inning. The U.S. scored all eight runs in the final two innings of the game.
The rest of the games have been five-inning mercy rules, shutouts and no-hitters that only solidify the argument that the United States is too good at softball and the rest of the world has no chance of competing.
Unfortunately, Canyon Country's Crystl Bustos and Camarillo's Jessica Mendoza share some of the blame.
The United States set an Olympic record with 12 home runs. The medal rounds haven't even started yet. Bustos and Mendoza have eight of those 12 home runs. They each homered in an 8-0 win over the Netherlands. One of the bright spots in the record-breaking home run performance is that the United States broke a record shared by Australia and Japan. Until today, that was one Olympic softball record the United States didn't have.
Monica Abbott was credited with a perfect game against the Netherlands which ended after five innings. It was the first perfect game by a United States pitcher in the Olympics. If ever there was a bad time to throw a perfect game, this was it. Perhaps the only time that might be worse is in the gold medal game.
"I am really excited," Abbott said after the game against the Netherlands. "I kind of had a goal to come out and throw one when I was named to the team. I was glad I was able to go out and make some good pitches work and I had some great plays made today by the defense with Lovie (Jung), Tairia (Flowers) and obviously Bergy's (Laura Berg) catch in right field. You can't really ask for much more than that and I was just trying to take it one pitch at a time and stay focused for each one."
The United States (6-0) has one more chance to make it look like it is not the behemoth of the Olympics. The U.S. plays China next, the last round robin game before playoffs begin on Wednesday. What better way to show the world that the U.S. is vulnerable than by losing to the host country.
The least the United States can do is make sure it goes the full seven. Keep it close and maybe softball has a chance to be an Olympic sport again.