The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — Stacy May-Johnson homered, Rhea Taylor had a two-run triple and the United States beat the Czech Republic 7-2 Thursday night at the World Cup of Softball.

Playing without an Olympic medalist, the Americans are fielding an inexperienced bunch instead of the group of veterans who once were a dominant force in international softball.

Superstar Jennie Finch retired from the U.S. team during last year’s World Cup, and Jessica Mendoza, Cat Osterman and Natasha Watley are among several former Olympic gold medalists who decided not to return to the team this year.

A group of rookie Americans still combined to win the team’s first international game on U.S. soil this year.

Taylor put the United States ahead to stay with her two-run triple to deep right field in the second inning. May-Johnson’s solo shot bumped the lead to 6-2 after the Czechs scored twice in the top of the fourth. She also singled twice.

With only three players who’d even been on the national team before, the U.S. is going through a transition period. The sport has been dropped from the Olympics for both 2012 and 2016 and the earliest it could return would be 2020.

Many top stars retired after the 2008 Games, and others have stepped aside since then or turned their attention to building the professional game. Without them, the Americans lost three times to top rival and 2008 gold medalist Japan this month at the Canada Cup, including in the championship game.

Instead, the national team is stocked with players who are in college or just finished it. Taylor was a part of three Women’s College World Series teams at Missouri, playing her last college game on the same field in Oklahoma City less than two months earlier.

Her former teammate, Chelsea Thomas, got the save after relieving Whitney Canion (1-0) with two runners on in the sixth. She got a double-play grounder and struck out cleanup hitter Eva Rendlova to end the threat.

Kelly Grieve had a pair of infield RBI singles, including one when Taylor scored from second in the sixth.

After being retired in order the first time through the lineup, the Czech Republic got to Canion for two runs in the fourth.

Lucie Petraskova broke up Canion’s no-hitter with a soft line single to right, and Dina Pfeiferova followed with an infield single. Canion then uncorked a high wild pitch to allow both runners to advance. Lenka Jaklova had an RBI groundout, and cleanup hitter Rendlova squeezed in the second run.

The Czechs were routed by Australia 11-0 earlier in the day in a game stopped after five innings because of the mercy rule. Australia also beat Great Britain 7-1 and Japan, last year’s runner-up, beat Canada 9-6 in eight innings.