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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday July 4, 2008 - 45 Aussie ace seeks fourth Olympic medal By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The name question comes up every now then, especially when she's in North America, but she's not quite sure why. "It's not even spelled the same, or pronounced the same," says Australian pitching ace Tanya Harding. The differences between the softball player and the notorious figure skater don't end there. The Australian Harding prefers noncontact methods to sit her opponents down, as she demonstrated by striking out 11 batters in less than six innings of work Wednesday at Trafalgar Park. The dominating performance by the pitcher considered to be one of the best five in the world led her team to a 11-3 victory over Venezuela as the two teams played in Oakville as part of a tour to tune up for next month's Olympics. It's currently the off-season for the Australians, so this tour of Canada, which concludes with the Three Nations Cup against Canada and Japan, is important preparation. For Harding, it will be her fourth Olympics, one that she hopes will net a fourth medal and complete her set. Harding and the Australians won bronze medals in 1996 and 2000 and upgraded to silver at the 2004 Games in Athens. Extra incentive Now with softball's Olympic future in doubt, Harding said there's even more incentive to try to wrestle the gold medal from the United States. "If anything, it really makes us go a little harder," said Harding, who plays in the Japan International League. "It might be back in, it might not." Of course, the 36-year-old Brisbane native never really dreamed of the Olympics as a youngster. She grew up in a softball family, her dad coached and her siblings all played. Still, softball lags behind other sports down under -- netball, swimming and field hockey all draw more female athletes. Harding's dream was simply to play for her country. "I always wanted to play for Australia," she said. "The Olympics is just the icing on the cake." It's icing that could be very sweet if the Australians can upset the heavily favoured Americans. They certainly have strong pitching with Harding, Melanie Roche, another soon-to-be four-time Olympian, and Justine Smethurst, a 21-year-old who is making her Olympic debut. At the plate, the Australians certainly showed they can hit. They launched five home runs in the win over Venezuela and added two more in a 7-0 win over an Ontario all-star LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER Masters begin Ontario Cup quest this weekend Three local men's soccer teams will play host to Ontario Cup playdown matches this weekend, including one that features players hoping to relive their glory days. The Oakville Masters will begin their quest for an Ontario Cup masters (over-35) title at 1 p.m. tomorrow when they face GS United of Scarborough at Shell Park. The Masters include four former Canadian Soccer League players (Cameron Walker, Hunter Madeley, Dino Lopez and Tony Pignatiello). Walker and Madeley have represented Canada at international tournaments in the past, while Lopez and Pignatiello used to play in the United Soccer League as well. The Masters will be tested in their first match. GS United has a strong club with a history of success, and former Canadian national team keeper Craig Forrest (currently a soccer television commentator) will play goal for Scarborough tomorrow. Oakville MCM will also compete for a Ontario Cup masters title, but earned a bye into the quarter-final round because there was an uneven number of teams in the draw. The provincial masters winner will move on to play in the Eastern Canadian championships, scheduled for October. Teams from Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland will also participate. Meanwhile, in men's Ontario Cup third-round action, the Italia and Wisla United will take to the local pitch Sunday. Wisla United will take on London A.E.K. at Shell Park (2 p.m. start), with Italia facing the Hamilton Serbia at Bronte Athletic Field (3 p.m. kickoff). Ontario Cup quarter-final rounds for most youth teams begin the weekend of August 9-10. WORLD CLASS: Australian pitcher Tanya Harding prepares to fire a pitch to a Venezuelan opponent during Wednesday's international exhibition softball match at Trafalgar Park. Harding struck out 11 batters in less than six innings and appears to be in top form as she attempts to win her fourth Olympic medal at next month's Summer Games in Beijing. team made up of U.S. collegiate play at nationals in Calgary in her players. Stacey Porter's third home final season in Oakville. run of the night, a moonshot to leftHer years with the Angels helped centre, simply left Ontario pitcher her earn a scholarship at Delaware Molly Yetman smiling and shaking State University, where she played her head. for the past four years. The Ontario squad certainly "I'm proud of her," said John appreciated the skills Burnison, who conof the Australian team. "They were like vinced her to join the Former Oakville Amazons. They had Angels after coaching Angels player Nicole some huge girls her in basketball in Demers tried to treat Mississauga. and they really hit the game like any "She's just a natural other but the Ontario the ball." athlete. She was aweshortstop realized that some in both (sports)." would not be the case Oakville Angels This past season when the first ball product Nicole Demers, Demers earned second talking about came her way. team all-star and all"You could see the the Australians academic honours in balls were hit a little the Mid-Atlantic harder," said Demers, who joined Athletic Conference. the Angels organization when she The Australians will be after the was 13 and played until her final biggest honour of them all next year of midget. month: Olympic gold. And the team "They were like Amazons. They gained some support during its visit. had some huge girls and they really Samantha Hartley of the hit the ball." Oakville Angels' squirt team said The Mississauga native helped she'll be rooting for the Australians the Angels win a bronze medal at -- as long as they're not playing provincials before moving on to Canada. Look for our flyer in today's paper LIGHTING STUDIO