BEIJING - University of Hawai`i softball pitcher,
Justine Smethurst earned her first win of her Olympic career for Australia. Smethurst flirted with throwing a perfect game before hitting a batter in the sixth inning. She ended up with a one-hit, complete game shut-out over the Netherlands, 8-0, in the 2008 Beijing Olympics on Saturday at the Fengtai Softball Stadium.
In her third appearance and second start of the games, Smethurst stimied the Dutch national team striking out nine, while her Aussie teammates pulled away in the seventh inning en route to an 8-0 win. Australia is now 3-2 at the Olympics, while the Netherlands fell to 0-5.
Former Rainbow Wahine stand-out, Stacey Porter also fared well in the game, going 1-for-3 with a run scored. Porter, the third batter in the Aussie line-up, has started all five games thus far at third base. This is the second Olympics for Porter who was an first-team All-American at UH. She played for the Rainbow Wahine from 2001-03.
On the first day of softball competition (Aug. 12), Smethurst made her Olympic debut as a reliever, throwing the final two innings in a 4-3 loss to Japan. She gave up just one hit and struck out in the hard fought game.
Smethurst then made her first start against Taiwan (Chinese Taipei) yesterday. Although she did not figure in on the decision, she threw the first three innings, giving up one run on four hits. The Aussies came from behind to defeat Taiwan, 3-1.
Smethurst, a right-handed pitcher, took off this past softball season to try-out for the national team after two solid seasons as the Rainbow Wahine's primary starter. She will be a junior upon her return for the 2009 season.
Australia will face Canada next on Sunday, August 17 at 11:00 pm (HST). Both teams currently have 3-2 records. On Monday, the Aussies finish the eight-team, round-robin qualifying portion of the Olympics against Venezuela. The top four teams will then advance to the medal rounds.
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