U.S. pitches fifth shutout

ATHENS, Greece -- Add another big fat zero for the U.S. softball team.

Five games into the Olympic tournament, the Americans remain unscored upon and unrelenting.

Jennie Finch pitched a one-hitter with eight strikeouts and Lisa Fernandez went 3-for-4 with a homer, as the Americans posted their fifth straight shutout, beating Canada 7-0 on Thursday in five innings to clinch a spot in this weekend's semifinals.

Crystl Bustos and Lisa Fernandez homered for the two-time defending gold medal-winning U.S. squad, which has outscored its opponents 31-0 and appears to be in a class by themselves in the eight-team field.

Consider this: the Americans have three "mercy rule" wins in the tourney; they've won 75 straight games; four of the five American victories have been one-hitters; and Canada (2-3) was just the second team to get a runner to third base.

After taking her pregame warmups, Finch threw her first pitch at precisely 5 p.m. local time. At 5:05, she was back in the dugout after striking out the side. Moments later, the rout was on.

Finch ran the U.S. pitching staff's scoreless streak to 30 innings.