If you don't follow women's sports, then you're going to have to trust me when I say the following: For many young girls, softball players like Jennie Finch, Cat Osterman and Crystl Bustos are every bit as famous as Derek Jeter, LeBron James or Peyton Manning.

Don't believe me? Well, you should have been at Bowman Field last Thursday for the U.S. Olympic team's exhibition game against a group of regional all-stars. A line snaked out from the front gates to deep into the parking lot long before the first pitch. In all, there were 4,312 fans there to see the U.S. pick up a 15-0 win as part of its preparation for the Olympics in August. Fans from throughout the region and beyond came to see the best America has to offer on the softball diamond. In fact, one woman drove up from Virginia on the off chance that she might be able to get a ticket (She did).

A group of area softball players got to be on the field for the pregame festivities. They also got to serve as batgirls for one inning each for the U.S. team. Shikellamy's Brittany Kurtz was one of those players. Though she admits that she was pretty nervous at times, she also had an amazing time working with the Olympians.

"It was a great experience," says Kurtz, a senior infielder for the Braves. "I was really intimidated at first, because they're big national stars. I didn't really know how to handle it. But some of the ladies were real neat, really nice. Crystl Bustos was really nice."

Danville senior pitcher Carrie Mensch also got to work as a batgirl for the Olympic team.

"It was definitely the experience of a lifetime for sure," Mensch says. "It was a great experience that I'll never forget."

Like Kurtz, Mensch was impressed by Bustos, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who visited Sunbury two years ago for the grand opening of the ASA Hall of Fame.

"It seemed like she made a point to talk to each one of the girls," Mensch says. "She was the real deal."

Kurtz had a chance to talk to U.S. pitcher Monica Abbott -- though her heart was pounding as she did so.

"I told her that she was really intimidating, and I didn't want to go up," Kurtz says. "She was like, Oh, just come up and say hi.'"Š''

Mensch says it's only natural that people are so excited and nervous about meeting the Olympians.

"They are not only representing our country, but I know so many kids who look up to them," she says. "When I was younger, I was looking up to Lisa Fernandez and Michele Smith (a two-time gold medalist). Now there's Jennie Finch, and so many people look up to her as a leader."

Indeed, fans love the Olympic softball players. Unfortunately, it looks like this is the last year softball will be in the Olympics, though there is a chance that it will return for the 2016 Summer Games. Whether softball returns to the Olympics or not, here's hoping that the top women's softball players continue to inspire the young players in the country.

SPIKED: This is the first year that the PIAA has allowed softball players to use metal spikes. For those girls who have grown accustomed to using them, you may have a bit of a problem: Williamsport's Elm Park, the site of the District 4 semifinals and finals, doesn't allow metal spikes. Now might be a good time to go back to your regular footwear.

LUUSING A TOP PLAYER: Milton will have to get through the district playoffs without shortstop Larissa Luu, who will be out of the country visiting relatives. Luckily for the Black Panthers, there's a chance that they'll only have to play in the district final. Luu will be back in time for states if Milton gets that far.