Americans win twice in Olympic softball

BEIJING, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Jessica Mendoza hit two of the United States' record four home runs Friday in a 7-0 Olympic softball win over Japan.

The Americans then completed a suspended game against Canada with a late outburst that carried them to an 8-1 victory.

It was a busy day for a U.S. team that improved to 4-0 in its bid for a gold medal in what is scheduled to be the final appearance of the sport in the Olympics.

Crystl Bustos and Natasha Watley also homered for the Americans. The four homers were the most in an Olympic contest and the game was stopped after five innings by the mercy rule. The United States had nine hits in just 25 at bats.

After downing Japan, the Americans resumed a game against Canada that had been halted by rain after three innings Thursday.

Canada had a 1-0 lead when play was halted and still had the advantage going into the sixth, but the United States sent eight women to the plate in that inning while scoring four times. Runs came in on a bases-loaded walk, a wild pitch and a throwing error.

It was the first loss of the tournament for Canada, which defeated China 3-2 before completing the suspended game with the Americans.