SENDAI (Kyodo) Jennie Finch pitched a one-hitter with eight strikeouts and helped her own cause with a two-run double as the United States defeated Japan 2-0 in the Japan Cup softball final on Sunday.
Team USA, which finished runnerup to gold-medalist Japan at last summer's Beijing Olympics, won its third consecutive title and fifth Japan Cup overall.
Starter Mika Someya allowed two runs and two hits in four innings for Japan at Sendai Stadium.
Finch doubled to center with runners on second and third in the first for a 2-0 lead. The right-hander walked one and did not allow a hit until Rei Nishiyama led off the seventh with a single.
Australia beat Taiwan 4-0 in the game to decide third place.