With runners on second and third while trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth, Amanda Chidester picked up her first hit of the day. It was a big one. Her ground ball off Australia pitcher Tarni Stepto made it into left field, allowing Ally Carda and Haylie McCleney to score the game-winning runs on a two-run walkoff single.
Australia’s Taylah Tsitsikronis inexplicably cut off the throw to home plate with McKlinney running home. But it appears that McKlinney would have scored regardless of the miscue. With the 2-1 win, Team USA improved to 4-0 in group play, good enough to advance to the gold medal game. Australia dropped to 1-3.
The lone Australian run was the first Team USA has allowed in Tokyo. The Americans previously posted a 2-0 win over Italy, a 1-0 win over Canada and a 1-0 win over Mexico en route to its 3-0 star
