Olympic softball records: Marks to be broken in Tokyo 2020

Olympic softball records: Marks to be broken in Tokyo 2020
16/07/2021
From Perfect Games: Yukiko Ueno, Japan vs. China 2004; Monica Abbott, USA vs. Netherlands 2008 to Most Consecutive Victories: 9 – USA (2004), check out all the Olympic records for softball. How many of them will be broken at Tokyo 2020?

Softball is a game of numbers. All kinds of stats reflect the greatness of the top softball players, their names etched in the record books, highlighting the stars of our game. With just a few days to the Olympic softball competition opener on Wednesday, check out the most incredible Olympic records that have moulded softball history and are now waiting to be broken at Tokyo 2020.

You can see the full list of individual and team Olympic records here.

Olympic Softball Statistics

Pitching

On 21 September 2000, USA and Australia faced off in the opening round of the second edition of softball competition at the Olympic Games. Australia won a 13-inning thriller, 2-1, in one of the most remembered games in the Olympics. This game has the largest crowd in Olympic softball history, with 9,209 spectators seated at Blacktown Park. Sadly, this record won't be broken this year with no fans allowed in the stands at Tokyo 2020. On 21 September 21 years ago, USA's Lisa Fernandez (pictured) posted the most strikeouts in a game with 25, a record that will probably stand for a long time.

Two pitchers have the honour of pitching a perfect game on the Olympic stage, after 128 Olympic softball matches. Yukiko Ueno (JPN) was the first and only to pitch a 7-inning perfect game on 20 August 2004, in a 2-0 win over China to close the Opening Round. Four years later, Monica Abbott (USA) tossed a 5-inning perfecto against the Netherlands on 17 August 2008.

Some records will likely never be broken. In 2004, Ueno tossed 15.1 consecutive hitless innings spread over four games, including the aforementioned perfect game. That same year, Tanya Harding (AUS) posted 33.1 consecutive scoreless innings, leading her team to their only silver medal so far. She went scoreless until the final game in Athens, were she gave up the five runs that gave USA the gold medal.

As a team, the 2004 USA Olympic Team has the lowest ERA in the Olympics: 0.13. 

Hitting

Fernandez, one of the greatest athletes in the history of softball, also excelled as a hitter during her illustrious career. The two-way player holds the record of highest batting average in an Olympic competition with .545, and most doubles with four, both of them at Athens 2004.

However, the greatest offensive performance ever in the Olympics belongs to the great Crystl Bustos (USA) in Beijing 2008. She posted records in home runs (six), slugging percentage (1.318), RBI (10, tying her own record from 2004), runs scored (12) and walks in a single game (three, tied with five more athletes).

Chinese Chunfang Zhang collected the most hits in an Olympic competition with 13 in Atlanta 1996 while on a particular note, no grand slams have been hit in the previous editions of softball at the Olympics in 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008. 

Tokyo 2020 – Olympic Softball