Softball: Praise the Lord - US too strong for White Sox

By CHRIS RATTUE

New Zealand are out of softball medal contention, and you can thank God for that.

The White Sox went down 2-0 in their sixth-round match to a United States team high on the Lord.

Inspired by a voodoo-releasing shower session, the Americans ended a three-match losing streak to beat New Zealand.

It was cut-throat. The winner would go into the medal games, and the loser was out.

The defending champions, who had won 112 consecutive games going into the Olympics, had powerful help. After the match, star player Lisa Fernandez thanked her Christian friends who said she just had to keep her composure and believe in God.

A reporter even asked veteran Dot Richardson if the team had held any "coming-to-Jesus-type meetings." There were many, she replied.

One involved most of the Americans jumping in a big shower in their white uniforms the night before the New Zealand game.

The players yelled things like "gone voodoo" as they splashed about for 15 minutes in a "cleansing session." A couple of players, silly things, gave the shower power a miss, but their team mates squelched the uniforms of those absent.

Listening to Richardson explain the weird things that had befallen her side in the previous losses, you would have thought Satan had it in for the Americans. That three-game losing streak had to be expelled.

Home-run hitter Jennifer Brundage summed up the success of their splashabout.

"It was kind of like the voodoo had gone," she said, perfectly seriously.

This is a true story.

Even coach Ralph Raymond was in on the act, although he gave the shower a miss.

"God helps those who help themselves," he said, explaining that his team had finally acted on the game plan.

Having mistakenly fallen upon some sort of prayer meeting, I went searching for the United States softball team's press conference.

Huh. That WAS the press conference. Holy Hank.

With all that against them, New Zealand didn't stand a chance.

The real reason New Zealand lost their fourth game in six was because they could not bat.

Apart from Jackie Smith, with seven hits, and Rhonda Hira, with five, New Zealand has struggled with the bat throughout the tournament.

They had just one against the Americans, to Kim Dermott, and two walks.

"When we did get on base it was with one or two batters down already," said coach Mike Walsh.

Chief Bible-belter Brundage got in an early blow when she crashed a Gina Weber pitch over left field, undoubtedly with the Almighty helping the ball on its way.

From there New Zealand never threatened although Weber kept a reasonable lid on the American batting, giving up six hits and an intentional walk against 30 batters.

For the 37-year-old Weber, this is the end unless Walsh decides to send her in against the high-flying Japanese today.

After the game she gave a brief hug to Richardson, who turned 39 yesterday. They are the veterans of women's softball, but Weber was not getting too emotional about the end of her career.

She said the team was "bitterly disappointed" to miss out on the medal games.

Both she and Walsh pinpointed a lack of pitching power as the major problem in New Zealand women's softball. It leaves them short against international batters, and in turn New Zealand batters do not get to face good pitching often.

Weber also said the New Zealanders were amateurs against professionals.

She may not have realised they were also up against the power of God, who apparently is an avid American sports fan.

Japan, China and Australia will need all the help they can get in the medal games.