YOKOHAMA, Japan (Reuters) -Hosts Japan hoisted their coach and waved to mostly empty stands to celebrate their second straight gold medal in softball on Tuesday by beating the United States 2-0 at the Tokyo Games, on the strength of Yamato Fujita's bat, ace Yukiko Ueno's arm and their usual all-around sharp defensive play.
The result left the United States with the silver medal, a repeat of 13 years earlier, when Japan stunned them in the most recent prior edition of Olympic softball. Canada earlier took bronze by edging Mexico 3-2.