By Israel Gutierrez | The Miami Herald

BEIJING — Sometimes proving people wrong doesn't feel very good at all.

All tournament long, the U.S. softball team insisted that it was not that far ahead of the rest of the world, despite a 22-game Olympic winning streak and owning the sport's only three gold medals. That there was need to rid the 2012 Olympics of softball because of a lack of competition, which many believe was a driving force for the decision. Any team can win at any time, they insisted.

The U.S. women could have offered a giant "I told you so," Thursday. But they were far too busy crying bitter tears.

In what was the last Olympic softball game for at least another eight years, the dominant U.S. team was clipped by a Japanese team it had already faced and beaten twice in this tournament. Japan won 3-1 to earn its first gold medal in the 12-year Olympic history of the sport, forcing the U.S. to settle for silver.

For many of the American veterans, even if the sport does return to the Olympics in 2016, it'll be too late for them to return. For them, this was a painful end to an impressive run.

"This is definitely a heartbreaking way to end my international career," said Stacey Nuveman, who was 0 for 3 against Japan, as the U.S. left seven runners on base.

The game began in ideal fashion for the U.S., with pitcher Cat Osterman striking out the side in the top of the first. The Americans then loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning with one out. But right fielder Kelly Kretschsman grounded into a force out at the plate, and third baseman Andrea Duran followed with a pop out that ended the inning.

The Japanese opened the scoring in the third inning when second baseman Masumi Mishina led off the inning with a double and eventually scored on a two-out single from right fielder Ayumi Karino.

In the fourth, center fielder Eri Yamada led the inning off with a home run to give Japan a 2-0 lead. The Americans got their lone run from a Crystl Bustos long ball in the bottom of the fourth, but the Japanese were able to tag on one more run and hold for the win.

Starting pitcher Yukiko Ueno pitched a complete game for Japan, giving her a fifth win against the Americans. Japan is now 7-13 against the U.S. since 2004.

Japan may be the closest thing the U.S. has to a true rival, but the teams won't be able to renew it on an Olympic field until 2016, at the earliest.

"This is what it's all about," shortstop Natasha Watley said of the competition. "And they're taking this sport out? As long as two teams come out here wearing a uniform, anybody can win. It's anybody's game. This is a great sport."

The sport already has backing to reinstate it for the 2016 Games, with a movement called Back Softball campaigning and raising funds with a goal to, among other things, increase the number of worldwide softball participants from 8.4 million to 10.5 million, increase the number of softball federations from 128 to 150 by Oct. 2009 and provide equipment to poorer regions across the world.

It's a movement the U.S. team clearly supports. It just wasn't a thought they felt like discussing immediately after Thursday's defeat.

"We'll think about that next week," Nuveman said. "We'll be in mourning for a while.

"I know there were a lot of IOC members here this week. I know Back Softball is working their butts off to get the word out and make the rounds. There are a lot of women here, not just USA players, that want to see this sport back in the Games. I mean, this team (Japan) played their tails off, and they want to be here in 2016 just as much as we do."

Japan didn't appear to be thinking too far into the future, either.

The Japanese players were too busy bowing to their fans in the stands and letting out high-pitch screams of celebration.

They celebrated while Osterman was in tears and being consoled as she was escorted off the field. They celebrated within inches of Watley as she tried to explain her disgust in losing. They celebrated on top of the medal stand as the U.S. team stood one spot to their right with tears not completely dried and stunned thoughts not completely settled.

"I haven't really thought about the big picture, really," Osterman said. "This loss just hurts too much."

For the U.S., Olympic softball can't come back soon enough.

"If we had the Olympics tomorrow, it makes it hard to lose," Watley said. "You don't want to lose on your gold medal game. Eight years away doesn't make any difference. This is our game, we wanted to win it and it's hard to lose.

"We're just like any other sport."