OSU release – CORVALLIS – Oregon State head softball coach Laura Berg will look to earn her fourth Olympic Gold Medal on Tuesday, as Team USA faces Japan for the top prize at the Tokyo Olympics. Berg, who won her previous three gold medals as a player, is part of the coaching staff for the American squad, which went a perfect 5-0 in the group phase. Tuesday’s Gold Medal game will begin at 4 a.m. PT, and will air live on NBCSN. The USA is coming off a 2-1 walk-off victory over Japan on Monday, and will be looking to lock down another victory over the host nation. Berg has been involved with USA Softball as both an athlete and a coach. As an athlete, Berg cemented herself as one of the game’s greatest outfielders, helping the Red, White and Blue to three Olympic Gold Medals in 1996, 2000 and 2004, as well as an Olympic Silver Medal in 2008. Berg joined the WNT coaching staff in 2012 and served as an assistant before being named the head coach for the Junior WNT in 2017 that earned Gold at the World Baseball Softball Confederation Junior Women’s World Championship. She was joined in Tokyo by Oregon State signee Tarni Stepto, who was part of the Australian squad. Stepto pitched one of the best games of the tournament on Sunday, holding the USA scoreless through the first seven innings, before surrendering just one earned run in 7.1 innings of work.
