The USA Softball Women's National Team returns to the world stage at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday night. The 2020 games are Team USA's fifth Olympic appearance and first since 2008, after the sport was left out of the London 2012 Summer Olympics and the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.
The opening ceremonies for the Tokyo Games are set for Friday, but Team USA will begin their campaign for softball gold on Tuesday when they face Italy in the opening round. The host country Japan is the defending gold medalist after they upset the United States in the final in Beijing 13 years ago. Prior to the upset loss in 2008, the United States had been dominant on the international level, taking home the gold in 1996 (Atlanta), 2000 (Sydney) and 2004 (Athens).
Here's how to watch USA Softball's 2020 Olympics opener:
USA Softball vs. Italy
When: 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 20 | Where: Fukushima Azuma StadiumTV channel: NBC Sports Network | Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)Odds: USA -3300; Italy +1000 (via William Hill Sportsbook)Five players who played in the memorable 2008 gold medal game will be returning for this year's competition. Returning for Team USA are 38-year-old left-hander Cat Osterman and 35-year-old left-hander Monica Abbott. Osterman and Abbott combined to throw every pitch for the United States in the 2008 final. For Team Japan, it's 38-year-old veteran ace Yukiko Ueno (who was the winning pitcher in 2008), 33-year-old catcher Yukiyo Mine (who caught Ueno's 413 pitches in the final two days in Beijing) and 37-year-old outfielder Eri Yamada (who hit two home runs in the gold medal game).
The softball tournament is set so that each team plays each of the other five teams in a single round-robin tournament. The top two teams (based on record) will compete for the gold medal, while the bronze medal game will be between the third- and fourth-place teams. Because of Tokyo's state of emergency due to COVID-19, there will be no fans at the games.
The full softball schedule for the Olympics can be found here. Here's Team USA's schedule:
Team USA Softball schedule
Tuesday, July 20
Italy
11 p.m.
Wednesday, July 21
Canada
8 p.m.
Saturday, July 24
Mexico
1:30 a.m.
Saturday, July 24
Australia
9 p.m.
Sunday, July 25
Japan
9 p.m.
Tuesday, July 27
Bronze medal game
12 a.m.
Tuesday, July 27
Gold medal game
7 a.m.
Olympic softball tournament gold medal odds
The No. 1 ranked United States and No. 2 Japan are the favorites for gold in this year's six-team Olympic field. The two teams have faced each other in the final of every World Championship dating back to 2002. Team USA hold the overall advantage over Japan with a 5-2 record.
USA
-200
Japan
+225
Canada
+1200
Mexico
+2500
Australia
+3300
Italy
+8000
