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Fernandez pitches gold
 A dominant team at the 1996 Atlanta Games and owner of a 49-game international winning streak heading into Sydney, the U.S. Women's softball team struggled terribly just to reach the final. Then it struggled to stay in the final and won despite managing just one hit.
"Definitely, the [gold medal] in '96 was incredible because it was the first ever," winning pitcher Lisa Fernandez said. "But this one somewhat surpasses it with what we had to overcome."
Japan scored first in the final when Utsugi Reika hit a line-drive homer to center field to open the fourth inning. Berg, the center fielder, leapt for it, but it reached the outfield so quickly she had no chance to time her jump. She, like Koseki, later blamed herself, but the real problem was the Japanese were reading Fernandez's pitches after playing against her in a Japanese league two seasons ago.
Fernandez, starting one day after she one-hit Australia and struck out 13 to send the United States into the final, never allowed another hit. "I picked Japan as the sleeper [of the Game] way back in June," US head coach Ralph Raymond said. "I said they would be the team to beat."
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