Yukiko Ueno became the first pitcher in Olympic softball history to throw a perfect game and helped Japan earn a semifinal berth with a 2-0 triumph over China on the final day of round-robin play at the Athens Games on Friday.
Japan pitcher Yukiko Ueno gets set to deliver a pitch during Friday's softball win over China in Athens.
In her third start in seven games, Ueno, who pitched 3 2/3 innings in relief in a 1-0 win over Italy a day earlier, struck out nine in a 65-pitch outing as Japan improved to 4-3 and finished the preliminaries in third place behind the United States and Australia.
The U.S. softball team remained unbeaten for the Olympics, beating Taiwan 3-0 on Friday for its seventh straight Olympic shutout and 77th win in a row. Cat Osterman struck out 10 in six innings, and the Americans completed a perfect run through the preliminary round, setting up a U.S.-Australia showdown in the semis.