U.S. coach Ken Eriksen predicts tight competition in softball as the sport returns to the Olympics for the first time since 2008. Seventeen of the 19 players currently on Mexico’s roster are listed on the team’s website as living in the United States. Italy’s roster includes second baseman Emily Carosone, born in Orlando, Florida. Infielder Kelsey Harshman, who was born in Tucson, Arizona, is part of a Canada team filled with U.S. college veterans that include Joey Lye, who quit as Bucknell’s coach to compete for the Olympic team. Japan upset the U.S. 3-1 in the 2008 gold medal game.
