'BUSTOS BOUNCE' GOOD AS GOLD -- LOCAL ATHLETE PLAYING WELL AT OLYMPICS

August 21, 2004
By Eugene Tong
Staff Writer -- Daily News Los Angeles

ATHENS, Greece - Call it the ``Bustos bounce.''

It's the spring in her step, the enthusiasm for the field and the flurry of home runs unleashed by U.S. Olympic softball mainstay and Canyon Country native Crystl Bustos when she's on her game.

``Once she got that first one off, she's got that Bustos bounce,'' Anthony Castro, a cousin, said after watching the third baseman knock one out of the Olympic Softball Stadium on Thursday in Team USA's final preliminary match against Chinese Taipei.

``(It's) that energy, that big smile when she's running around the field,'' said Castro, 31, of Temecula. ``It's been great.''

The team, 7-0, has steamrollered every opponent since competition began Aug. 14 with round-robin play among the eight qualifying teams. Bustos, who first earned gold at the 2000 Sydney Games and is considered the sport's top slugger, smashed three home runs in the team's perfect preliminary run.

``It takes everything,'' Bustos, 26, said in an interview after the game.
``It takes every aspect of our game to work. We have to have the hitting, the bunting, the phenomenal defense ... and just keep pushing at it.''

But that's all in the past. The semifinals will begin Sunday, with the United States vs. Australia. The winner will play for the gold against either the People's Republic of China or Japan, who also are squaring off for a place at Monday's gold and silver medal match.

``They're going to be hungry and they're going to be wanting us,'' Bustos said. ``The 10 runs that we got (against Australia in the preliminaries), that was already in the past. We can't hold on to that. We just have to keep going.''

But unlike four years ago, when Bustos and her teammates had to play amid thousands of rabid Aussie fans, Athens has been more supportive territory.

``In Sydney, we had a lot of people against us,'' Bustos said. ``When we fell behind, it seemed like a dogfight. It was definitely a hard thing to come through.

``The difference between now and then - we got a lot more people on our side and they help you to get pumped up.''

Michelle Duncan, 37, of Bakersfield traveled thousands of miles with her daughter Stefanie, 12, to cheer on Bustos and Team USA in a stadium built on top of an old Athens airport. It's a place where, in spite of 84-degree heat and 42 percent humidity, the crowd might break into impromptu Greek dancing between innings when the PA system plays the right snippet of traditional music.

``She's very focused - a team player,'' Michelle said. ``She's the one you can count on to get the job done.''

Still, softball has been struggling to find its audience outside a small, die-hard fan base. Making only its third appearance since becoming an Olympic event at the 1996 Atlanta Games, attendance for the Athens matches remained sparse - from about 300 in a game between Italy and Canada to more than 2,300 when the United States played Greece.

While the sport is safe for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, its future as an official event beyond the Chinese capital appeared uncertain.

``It would be a loss to the Olympics - it would be a loss for baseball in general (if softball is dropped),'' said Bustos, who along with such star teammates as pitchers Jennie Finch and Lori Harrigan is trying to promote softball beyond North America.

``We want to get other countries to strive through another sport,'' she said. ``We're helping in that.''

``The girls are so down-to-earth,'' said William Harper, 20, of Warsaw, Va., who caught a match in between volunteering at the games. ``They're trying to save the sport after '08. They're putting on a good show.''

Meanwhile, Bustos and her team are focused on the task at hand.

``I hope to bring back another gold,'' said Bustos, when asked about the fans back home in Canyon Country. ``I appreciate all the e-mails and fan support I got back there. It's going to be a couple games to watch. You won't want to miss them.''