Michele Granger/
Softball
The power pitcher from Alaska, Michele Granger was key in clinching the gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games for the U.S. Olympic Softball team. In the final game against China, she struck out eight and allowed three hits in five and two-thirds innings. She finished the tournament with a 2-0 record and 0.87 ERA.
Since Granger's international debut at the age of 16, the legend that has surrounded the USA's most prolific strikeout machine has continued to grow. Granger had the honor of pitching the USA to a gold medal at the 1986 & 1994 ISF World Championships, the 1987 ISF Jr. Girls' World Championships, the 1991 & 1995 Pam American Games, the 1994 South Pacific Classic and Superball 1995.
She is the only player in history to compete in the ISF Jr. Girls' World Championships, the U.S. Olympic Festival, the Pan American Games and the ASA Women's Major National Championships in the same year (1987). She holds 20 records at the University of California-Berkeley, and six NCAA records including all-time strikeout leader. (10/96)