ATHENS, Greece - They are America’s newest golden girls — powerful and just a shade from perfection.

The U.S. softball team won its third straight gold medal with an unprecedented and nearly unblemished romp through the Olympics, capped by a 5-1 victory Monday over an Australian team, that, like the rest of softball’s elite, never had a chance.

The Americans zeroed in on a gold medal, and were four outs from a tournament-long shutout before the Aussies scored a run — the first given up by the U.S. pitching staff in 54 2-3 innings.

One minor flaw on an otherwise perfect run on the game’s grandest diamond.

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