Photos by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

USA softball player Jennie Finch (middle, bottom) is swarmed by fans wanting autographs after the game Thursday night.

Salem All-Stars players and USA Softball players meet near home plate to high five after the game. USA defeated the Salem All-Stars 9-0.

Cat Osterman threw a two-hit shutout as the U.S. Olympic softball beat the Salem All-Stars during an exhibition game.

Salem All-Stars player Jenny Clohan (middle) laughs with teammate Jenn Everhart (left) in the dugout during the game against the USA.

Cari Wooldridge pitched a scoreless third inning Thursday against the U.S. Olympic softball team.

The Liberty High School graduate and Winthrop ace had a much different experience in the fourth inning, though. She gave up back-to-back homers to Jessica Mendoza and Crystl Bustos.

"I was doing pretty good [in the third]. The [fourth] inning, I was like, 'Oh, crap,' " Wooldridge said with a laugh.

In their penultimate game before heading to Beijing, the Olympians cruised to a crowd-pleasing 9-0 win over a team of regional college standouts at Kiwanis Field.

It was "a lot of fun," said Christiansburg graduate Hope Creasy of Radford University, who struck out twice. "It's one of the games that'll stand out for a long time."

The game was played in front of a sellout crowd of 4,126 fans from Virginia and several other states.

The fans got to see a full seven-inning game, which featured two homers, two triples and two doubles. It was a respectable outing by the Salem All-Stars' pitchers, though. By comparison, the Olympians beat a team from Spokane, Wash., 31-0 earlier this month.

Thirteen-year-old Morgan Neal of Salem got to see her favorite player, Cat Osterman, strike out 15 batters. "She just inspires me," Neal said.

While the fans wearing Jennie Finch shirts didn't get to see her pitch, they did get to see her pinch-hit and play an inning at first base.

The postgame autograph session was just as exciting to the fans as the game itself.

"That was awesome," Makayla Hosaflook, 13, of Woodstock said after Finch signed her shirt. "I've been waiting all night for that."

Nicole Blackburn, 11, of Knoxville, Tenn., was in tears after getting Osterman's autograph. "It meant the world to me because I admire her so much," she said. "I want to be just like her someday."

The Salem All-Stars got the Olympians' autographs, too.

The Olympians improved to 58-1 on their tour, which concludes Saturday in Irvine, Calif. It was their 41st straight win since losing to Virginia Tech in March in Oklahoma City.

"I had some real juices flowing," Mendoza said. "They played the Olympic song and I was like, 'I am in Beijing right now,' especially with this crowd -- great crowd."

The Olympians said the game showed they are ready for Beijing.

"You see us hitting on all cylinders," Osterman said. "We got bunts going, home runs going, base hits going. You see people stealing bases. We're clicking at the right time."

The Olympians missed batting practice because they were stuck at the Hotel Roanoke while their bus was repaired. They still got 12 hits off recent Radford University graduate Ashley Taylor, Wooldridge and James Madison University's Jenny Clohan.

"When we get over to Beijing, we're going to [face] pitchers like your pitchers here that move the ball very well," Bustos said. "The speed was probably about what we're going to see in our first game against Venezuela."

Mendoza had an RBI triple, a two-run homer and an RBI double. Bustos had an RBI single, a solo homer and an RBI double. Mendoza and Bustos got a hit off each pitcher.

"Against Jessica Mendoza, my [home-run] ball went straight down the middle of the plate," Wooldridge said. "Before it got to the middle of the plate, I was like, 'Can I please have that pitch back?'

"Then Bustos hit one. She's got the fastest hands I've ever seen."

Tech's Jenna Rhodes led off the game with a bunt single off Osterman, who didn't pitch in the March game against the Hokies. Tech's Jessica Everhart singled to right in the second.

"Having the experience [from the March win] kind of made me pretty calm," Everhart said.

Osterman, one of 10 holdovers from the 2004 Olympic team, improved to 15-0 on the tour.

"She has a ton of movement," said Cave Spring and UNC Greensboro graduate Mary Greenway, who struck out once. "She has a ton of spin on her ball.

"It was just a very exciting experience."

Salem 000 000 0 -- 0 2 1

U.S. 220 302 0 -- 9 12 0

Taylor, Wooldridge (3), Clohan (4) and Haller, A. Walker (4). Osterman and Nuveman. W-- Osterman (15-0). L -- Taylor. HRs-- U.S.: Mendoza (21), Bustos (27).

HOW THEY SCORED

U.S. first: Watley tripled to center. Lowe reached on a fielder's choice to second, with Jen Everhart throwing home; Watley scored. Mendoza popped up to second. Lowe stole second. Bustos grounded to shortstop; Lowe advanced to third. Nuveman singled to right; Lowe scored. U.S. 2, Salem 0.

U.S. second: Berg had a bunt single. Watley lined to first. Lowe reached on a fielder's choice; Berg out at second. Mendoza tripled to left; Lowe scored. Bustos singled to right; Mendoza scored. U.S. 4, Salem 0.

U.S. fourth: Watley singled to shortstop. Lowe popped up to shortstop. Mendoza hit two-run homer to center. Bustos homered to left. U.S. 7, Salem 0.

U.S. sixth: Lowe singled to center and stole second. Mendoza doubled to left; Lowe scored. Bustos doubled to right; Mendoza scored. U.S. 9, Salem 0.