U.S. softball player Stacey Nuveman walks to the medal ceremony after the U.S. lost to Japan in the gold medal softball game Thursday in Beijing.

Beijing ? With silver medals swinging from their necks, their eyes filled with tears, five members of the U.S. Olympic softball team walked to home plate and placed their cleats in the dirt.

Their games were over, and so were their international playing careers.

With that they said goodbye to softball, the sport they played better than anyone else save for one game.

Losing for the first time since 2000, the Americans were denied a chance for a fourth straight gold medal Thursday, beaten 3-1 by Japan in softball’s last appearance in the Olympics for at least eight years. Maybe forever.

Yukiko Ueno, Japan’s remarkably resilient right-hander, shut down the Americans and handed them their first loss since Sept. 21, 2000, at the Sydney Games. The U.S. had won 22 straight since then.

Another gold was certainly within reach. Instead, they walked off Fengtai Field with their heads bowed.

“It hurts a lot,” slugger Crystl Bustos said. “You train your whole life, and you want to win. You don’t expect to lose.”

The U.S. team never led and made two uncharacteristic errors in the seventh inning to help the Japanese add an important insurance run – one they didn’t even need.

When Caitlin Lowe grounded to third for the final out, Vicky Galindo, who led off the U.S. team’s seventh inning with a pinch-hit single, wrapped her hands over her helmet and cringed.

Moments later, U.S. coach Mike Candrea huddled with his stunned players. Lowe choked back tears as Bustos tried to console her overwhelmed teammates.

“You don’t want it to end this way, but it’s all we could do,” Bustos said.