Softball is back on the Olympic schedule _ for Tokyo
HIGHLIGHTS FROM RIO: Softball was dropped for the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. It has been dropped again for the 2024 Paris Games but is expected to return for 2028 in Los Angeles.
WHAT´S NEW: What had been an eight-nation tournament in Beijing has been reduced to six: the United States, Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan and Mexico. Under the new format, each nation will play a single round-robin for a total of 15 games. Third- and fourth-place will play for the bronze medal and first- and second-place for the gold. Games on July 21-22 will be played in Fukushima, the rest of the tournament in Yokohama.
TOKYO EXPECTATIONS: The United States won the first three softball gold medals in 1996, 2000 and 2004 and has been waiting for this moment since it was upset by Japan 3-1 in the 2008 gold medal game. Australia´s team was among the first athletes to travel to the Olympics, arriving in Japan on June 1.
ATHLETES TO WATCH: LHP Cat Osterman, the losing pitcher, and LHP Monica Abbott, who relieved, are the two holdovers on the 15-woman U.S. roster, which was announced on Oct. 6, 2019, and remains unchanged.
GOLD MEDAL MOMENT: The medal games are July 27.
___
More AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2020-tokyo-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
