BEIJING, China - University of Hawai`i pitcher Justine Smethurst and former standout player Stacey Porter won the bronze medal in softball for Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics at the Fengtai Softball Stadium in Beijing today. The Aussies finished the games with a 6-3 record, earning their third straight medal in Olympic softball.

The top four teams from the preliminary round--USA (7-0), Japan (6-1), Australia (5-2), and Canada (3-4)--moved on to the semi-finals or "medal round." In the first semi-final game of the day, top-seeded United States of America outlasted Japan, 4-1 in nine innings. Team USA advanced straight to the gold medal game with the win, while Japan would have to face the winner of the other semi-final game between Australia and Canada. 

In the second semi-final game, Australia eliminated Canada with a 5-3 win and moved on to play Japan later in the afternoon. The victory secured at the very least a bronze medal for Australia. The winner of the Australia-Japan game would advance to face Team USA in the gold-medal game while the loser received the bronze.

Smethurst made her fourth start of the Olympics against Japan in the medal-game. She threw the first five innings and gave up two runs on five hits with two strike outs. Smethurst did not figure in the decision as Tanya Harding fired the final 6.1 innings in a marathon 12 inning, 4-3 loss against Japan.

Porter scored two of the Aussies three runs while going 1-for-5 in the game. She led Australia with nine runs scored in her second Olympics, but overall struggled at the plate, hitting .091 (2-for-22) with nine strike outs and 10 walks.

Smethurst threw well in her first Olympics, appearing in five games with four starts. She finished the tournament throwing 19.0 innings, giving up three runs on 11 hits with 12 strike outs and just two walks. In her second start Olympics, Smethurst had a perfect-game going through the first six innings against the Netherlands before hitting a batter to start the inning. She took the no-hitter into the seventh before Kim Kluijskens hit a single. Smethurst ended up firing a one-hit, complete-game shut out over the Dutch national team as the Aussie's offense pulled away with a 8-0 win.

The Rainbow Wahine softball team looks forward to Smethurst returning to their rotation this coming season. The junior will rejoin her team that is coming off back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances. In 2008, the 'Bows finished the season with a 40-21 record, falling to the eventual Women's College World Series champions, Arizona State in the Tempe Regionals.