OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The USA Softball Women’s Pan American Qualifier team and Megan Langenfeld (Bakersfield, Calif.) are nominees for August 2009 awards from the U.S. Olympic Committee. The team is being considered for the Team of the Month Award for their Gold Medal performance while Langenfeld is being considered for the Female Athlete of the Month.

Fan votes count for 10-percent of the total while votes of the Olympic Family comprise the rest. Both polls are available below. To vote for the Women’s Pan American Qualifier Team, you can also go to http://twtpoll.com/jgedtq. Or you can vote for Langenfeld at http://twtpoll.com/87q1gx. The last day to vote is Sunday, Sept. 6.

After leading the 2006 Junior Team to a World Championship Langenfeld made her first appearance on the Women’s Team a memorable one hitting .605 with a team high 23 hits at the Pan American Qualifier in Maracay, Venezuela, July 31-Aug. 9. She was consistent at the plate hitting over .500 in 12 of 13 games.

Langenfeld competed in 13 games at first base with four triples, a team-high, and three home runs. In two games, she had five RBI, contributing to her team-high 21 RBI at the Pan American Qualifier. In the Championship Game, Langenfeld was 2-for-2 with a double and a run.

The USA Softball Women’s Pan American Qualifier team had a commanding performance at the qualifier, allowing only four runs in 14 games while scoring 142. With five players hitting over .500, the team displayed pure dominance, tallying 12 run-rule victories with the other two games going seven innings against eventual silver medalists Canada.

In seven games, the offense put up double digit runs. Among the big wins at the Pan American Qualifier were a 21-0 win over Ecuador in five innings, 22-0 win over Panama in three innings and 15-0 victories over Dominican Republic (four innings), Belize (four innings) and Argentina (five innings).

And the squad even had two combined perfect games, with Brandice Balschmiter (Newark, N.Y.) and Nikki Nemitz (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) pitching against Columbia, and with Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) and Balschmiter in the second matchup with Cuba.

But it was not all a celebration in Maracay, Venezuela. At the bats of a Canada team that threatened all season, the Americans lost for the first time since the Gold Medal Game at the 2008 Olympic Games, 3-1. The loss meant Team USA had to win two extra games to make it to the championship. But win two games it what they did — the red, white and blue finished the tournament in the Gold Medal game with a 3-1 victory over the Canadians.

At the tournament, the U.S. qualified for the 2010 International Softball Federation (ISF) Women’s World Fast Pitch Championships, July 16-26, at the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City, Okla., and the 2011 Pan American Games.