No American Olympic team had a better weekend than the women’s softball team. On Saturday, Team USA found themselves in jeopardy of losing their first game at the Tokyo Olympics. Having given up the first run of their Olympic run, the softball powerhouse found themselves in need of some offensive when Amanda Chidester stepped up to bat with Ally Carda and Haylie McCleney already on base. Delivering when her team needed it most, Chidester hit the ball into left field as Carda and McCleney scored.
“In my head, I’m like: Score! Score two! Score two! Score two!” Chidester said after the game.
“When I got up and everyone was running out at me, I was like, We did it!”
Chidester’s late-game heroics not only won the game, but it also clinched her team’s spot in the championship game. However, Team USA needed to play one more preliminary game to determine seeding.
Facing off against Japan on Sunday, Team USA found themselves in need of late-game heroics yet again. This time around, a solo home run from Kelsey Stewart set up American for a 2-1 win.
Team USA’s win against Japan on Sunday secured the top seed in the Olympic tournament and the ability to bat last in the gold medal game. Both America and Japan will retake the field at 7 a.m. ET to play for the gold medal on July 27.
A walk-off for @TeamUSA!@USASoftball beats Japan 2-1! They'll play Japan again Tuesday for GOLD! #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/lXGeo01mch
— #TokyoOlympics (@NBCOlympics) July 26, 2021
