The United States claimed the softball World Cup trophy after beating Australia 3-1 in the final on Monday.

Lauren Lappin homered to start a three-run rally in the third inning.

Alissa Haber and Andrea Duran added RBI singles to push the lead to 3-0, and Monica Abbott and Cat Osterman combined to make it stand up for the Americans' third straight World Cup title.

Stacey Porter homered for Australia, the bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Australia beat 2008 Olympic gold medalist Japan on its way to its first championship game at the World Cup and gave the U.S. its closest game of the tournament.

Canada claimed third place after Jennifer Yee set a World Cup record with her fourth home in a 4-1 win over Japan.

Nathalie Timmermans drove in three runs and four other Dutch players homered as the Netherlands beat Italy 8-1 in six innings to win the fifth-place game.

(Xinhua News Agency July 21, 2009)