PORTLAND, Ore.  --- The USA Softball Women’s National team traveled to Portland, Oregon  on Sunday to begin their final stretch of the KFC Bound 4 Beijing tour. A tour that  started in February, the long journey across the U.S.  will pick up again on Tuesday evening as the U.S.  visits Portland  for a match up against ASA Regional All Stars. This begins what is the final  three weeks of the tour before departure to defend its fourth–consecutive  Olympic Gold Medal in Beijing  in August.

"It is a very exciting time as we are embarking on our last leg of the  tour,” said two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Crystl Bustos. “The sites have been  great and it is hard to believe it’s almost over. We are going to be extremely  focused the next month to get ready to defend our gold medal come August in China.”

With just eight games remaining on the schedule, following Oregon,  the Americans will travel to Spokane, Washington before bussing through Yellowstone  National Park for a game in Rapid City, South    Dakota on July 15. On July 18, they will play in Springfield, Mo. before  heading east to Stratford, Conn. for competition on July 20. Another  National ProFastpitch contest is then scheduled on July 22 against the Akron  Racers followed by a Salem,   Va. visit on July 24. The final  game of the tour before the team departs for China  will be in Irvine, Calif. on Saturday, July 26.

With a record of 51-1, the U.S.  is hitting a remarkable .432 as a team and has outscored opponents 599-26.  Leftfielder Jessica Mendoza (Camarillo,   Calif.) leads all batters with a  .474 batting average with 16 home runs and a team-high 83 RBI. Bustos has a  team-high 23 home runs while Kelly Kretschman (Indian Harbour Springs, Fla.)  has earned a team-high 46 walks. Lead off hitter Natasha Watley (Irvine, Calif.)  is a perfect 20-for-20 in stolen bases and is No. 2 on the team for batting  average at .422.

From the circle, Jennie Finch (La    Mirada, Calif.) leads  the way with a 17-1 record with 102.0 innings pitched with 179 strikeouts. Cat  Osterman (Houston, Texas)  is 12-0 with 92.0 innings pitched and 193 strikeouts while Monica Abbott(Salinas, Calif.)  has totaled 89 innings pitched recording a 13-0 record with 176 strikeouts  tallied. As a whole, the pitching staff has held opponents to a .089 batting  average and has a combined .47 ERA.

(Game report provided by USA Softball)