Kretschman and Team USA Appear on Sports Illustrated Cover
8/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Kelly Kretschman (bottom left) - Photo copyright Sports Illustrated.
She’s appeared on the cover of the New York Times, inside Sports Illustrated, USA Today, the David Letterman Show, the Today Show and ESPN and now Kelly Kretschman appears on the cover of the latest issue of Sports Illustrated with the rest of the 2004 Olympic Gold-medal winning softball team.
Team USA blew through the preliminary round of competition going 7-0 while outscoring its opponents 41-0. The team then easily dispatched of Australia in the semifinals 5-0, before defeating the Australians for the third time in the tournament 5-1 in the finals to claim its third straight Olympic Gold medal.
Kretschman was the only batter to hit for the cycle -- hitting at least one single, double, triple and home run -- over the course of the Olympics. Her .333 batting average was eighth-best in the Summer Games, and her .714 slugging percentage ranked third among all hitters in Athens.
Kretschman’s appearance on the cover of SI marks the 51st time The University of Alabama has been represented on the cover of the legendary sporting journal.
