Two-time Olympic softball bronze medallist Sally McCreedy says the enthralling semi-final between Australia and Japan in Beijing was evidence the sport deserves Olympic status.
The match lasted a marathon 12innings and was so absorbing that Prime's Olympic broadcast stuck with the game and delayed switching to the Boomers v United States basketball quarter-final.
But as Japan advanced to the gold-medal game it would eventually win and Australia settled for bronze it was the end of an era for softball.
Softball was introduced to Olympic competition in 1996 at Atlanta but will not be part of the 2012 London Games.
Canberra's McCreedy, who won bronze medals in 1996 and in 2000 in Sydney, shared the disappointment that all involved in the sport felt when the Olympic competition ended.
''It was a thrilling game to end on for the Australian girls,'' McCreedy said.
''The fact that it stayed on [television] for the whole time despite the basketball was a real credit to the game.''
But the impact of the withdrawal of softball from the Olympics is already being felt with the sport experiencing both a drop in playing numbers and national funding.
The International Olympic Committee announced in 2005 that softball would not be part of the 2012 Games and McCreedy, who coaches the ACT under-23 side, said numbers had been dropping and elite players were retiring earlier.
''Older players are retiring earlier instead of hanging on a bit longer to perhaps play in one more Olympics,'' she said.
Fellow Canberra Olympian Jo Brown (nee Alchin), who scored the home run to beat the United States in Atlanta, said the absence of an Olympic profile would affect recruitment.
''A lot of girls won't pursue softball because they won't have the chance to play at the Olympics, which was special,'' Brown said.
Brown, who was on the board of Softball Australia in 2005-06, said when the Olympic axing was announced measures were taken to try and maintain the interest in the game in Australia.
''The board started trying to introduce new things to keep the numbers going,'' Brown said.
''Clearly we haven't found a solution yet, but the introduction of games such as diamond ball [a variation of softball for children] has begun.''
Softball ACT president Frank Curcio said a review had been conducted with more than 40 recommendations to keep the sport alive. But he said funding cuts were going to be the most immediate problem.
''Currently subsidies are given to players in the national league, which helps fund their travelling and reduce costs,'' Curcio said.
Brown said the withdrawal of those funds would have a significant impact on softball's national competitions.
''There is no money in the national league, so if players have to burden some of that cost it will definitely stop some from going,'' Brown said.
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