U.S. softball game with Canada suspended by rain

BEIJING -- Heavy thunderstorms suspended the U.S.-Canada softball game Thursday at the Olympics, putting the Americans' lengthy winning streak on hold for a day.

The U.S. was trailing 1-0 in the fourth inning at Fengtai Softball Stadium. The teams will resume play Friday following the U.S.-Japan game, which begins at noon local time.

Canada will play China earlier, and then will have to wait around to play the Americans, who have won 16 straight at the Olympics and are seeking their fourth gold medal in softball's last swing in the games until at least 2016.

After posting shutouts and no-hitters in its first two games in China, and blanking 10 of its past 11 opponents in the Olympics, the Americans found themselves in an unusual spot in the first inning: behind.

Following a bizarre inning that featured controversy and an error, the U.S. trailed Canada 1-0, its first deficit since the gold-medal game at Sydney in 2000.

The Canadians scored a run without a hit when Monica Abbott was called for three illegal pitches by Italian third-base umpire Gianluca Magnani. He ruled that her left, push-off foot was not over the rubber when she began her delivery.

Abbott had retired leadoff hitter Melanie Matthews on a comebacker on her first pitch. But Magnani yelled "Illegal pitch," and Matthews was given another crack at the left-hander. She then hit a fly ball — Magnani called a second illegal pitch as Matthews connected — to deep center that Caitlin Lowe dropped.

If the illegal pitches weren't strange enough, Lowe's error was perhaps more bizarre.

It was her first error in 123 games since joining the U.S. team in 2005.

Earlier, Australia (1-2) got its first win of the tournament, 3-1 over China (2-1). Simmone Morrow hit a pair of homers for the Australians.

In the evening session, Japan (3-0) stayed unbeaten with a 3-0 win over the Netherlands (0-3). Taiwan (1-2) defeated Venezuela 3-0 (0-3) in the day's final game.