US shuts out Taiwan 7-0 in women's softball

BEIJING (AP) The U.S. softball juggernaut rolls on.

Jessica Mendoza hit her third home run in two days, Jennie Finch pitched five shutout innings and the Americans rocketed line drives to every corner of Fengtai Field in a 7-0 shutout of Taiwan Saturday to run their Olympic winning streak to 19.

Mendoza's leadoff homer ignited a five-run third inning for the U.S., which posted its fourth shutout in five games - 22nd overall in four Olympic games - and needed just five innings to beat Taiwan (1-4).

Five games in, another international softball tournament has a distinctly All-American flavor.

As it did four years ago in Greece, the U.S. team is flattening the field on a run toward a fourth straight gold medal.

The Americans have outscored the opposition 36-1; allowed just four hits in 29 innings and are turning softball's last at-bat in the games until at least 2016 into their own farewell party.

Lovieanne Jung and Lauren Lappin added two RBIs apiece for the U.S., which will play the Netherlands on Sunday.

Standing to the first-base side of the pitcher's mound under a blistering Beijing sun, Taiwan's players appeared a bit star struck as each member of the U.S. team was introduced before the game.

When slugger Crystl Bustos jogged onto the infield dirt, a few of the Taiwanese elbowed each other, smiled and nodded.

If they didn't have a game to play, they may have asked for autographs.

One day after beating Japan 7-0 and finishing off Canada 8-1 in a game spread over two days, the Americans jumped to a 1-0 lead in the first on Mendoza's RBI double.

Caitlin Lowe walked with one out, stole second and scored when Mendoza, who hit a pair of two-run homers vs. Japan, ripped a shot off the base of the wall in right-center. Bustos followed with a bloop single, but Lin Su-Hua was able to work out of the jam and strand two U.S. runners.

When the Americans came up in the second, catcher Lauren Lappin's mom, Kelly, began a chant of "Everybody hits," from the stands and the U.S. women listened.

Even their outs were hit hard when they threatened again in the second. But Taiwan left fielder Huang Hui-Wen made two diving catches to rob Tairia Flowers and Caitlin Lowe of base hits. She nearly made a third, but couldn't squeeze Natasha Watley's sinking liner.

Huang could nothing but watch helplessly as Mendoza, using a purple aluminum bat that bears her name on the barrel (an endorsement deal), hit a towering homer to center to open the third.

The U.S. batted around and tacked on four more runs in the inning, highlighted by Jung's two-run double.

Finch was in cruise control from the outset. She gave up two singles, walked one and struck out six.

Earlier, Japan (4-1) got just two hits but one of them was Rie Sato's three-run homer that gave the defending bronze medalists a 3-0 win over China (2-3). In the evening session, the Netherlands (0-4) plays Australia (2-2) and Venezuela (1-3) plays Canada (3-1).

The top four teams in round-robin play advance to next week's medal round.

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