The U.S. women’s softball team lost 2-0 to Japan 2-0 in the gold medal game of the Tokyo Olympics.
Team USA, which took home silver in the event, hit into a double play to end the sixth inning and stranded two runners.
Japan, winners of the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics, had a runner in scoring position in each of the first four innings before finally converting on an infield single in the fourth inning.
Japan added its second run in the top of the fifth inning when Yu Yamamoto scored.
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The Americans, who were unbeaten entering the contest, had three runners in scoring position during the game but have failed to capitalize on each opportunity. In total, the United States had three hits in the gold medal game.
Despite having a perfect record entering the gold medal round, Team USA had failed to score more than two runs in any contest so far in Tokyo. That trend held up in the worst way imaginable on Tuesday morning when the team failed to score at all for the first time all tournament.
The U.S. entered the Olympic softball tournament as the favorites, having won the 2018 Women’s World Championship.
The last time the sport was at the Olympics, however, was 2008 and Japan won the gold medal and the United States settled for silver. Similar to this year's Olympics, the U.S. softball team entered the gold medal round undefeated only to lose its first game on the biggest stage.
