UCLA’s Natasha Watley hit a two-run home run for the USA
softball team in its 4-0 gold medal win over Canada at the
Pan-American Games on Aug. 15, which was highlighted by a perfect
game by Texas’ Cat Osterman.
Osterman threw 14 strikeouts en route to the perfect game in the
finals in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Watley’s home run came in the sixth inning, giving the
United States a 4-0 lead. In the first inning, Watley reached on a
bunt single and later scored on a wild pitch; a sacrifice fly by
former Bruin Stacey Nuveman scored another run in the same
inning.
“We are very, very proud to win the Pan-American
gold,” USA and Arizona head coach Mike Candrea said in a
statement.
“We’ve got a talented group of athletes, and USA
Softball expects to win. We have set the bar so high; that is our
goal every time we walk on the field, to win. I think winning
breeds winning, and these kids are used to winning. This is a
special group because it’s not just a veteran group;
we’ve got a good mix of young and old that all have one thing
in common, and that is talent.”
This was the fifth straight gold medal at the Pan-Am games for
team USA, who went 9-0 at the games, outscoring their opponents
59-1.
Watley played her senior season at UCLA this past year, leading
the Bruins to an NCAA championship and won the Honda-Broderick Cup,
an award given to the top female collegiate athlete in the
country.
Nuveman graduated from UCLA in 2002 and broke the NCAA all-time
record for career home runs.
Other former or current Bruins on the team included Lisa
Fernandez, Amanda Freed, Keira Goerl and Tairia Mims.