for some reason the name of the australian pitchers kind of stuck out. both of them. Australia 4, Japan 2 Tanya Harding bailed out Australia by pitching 6 1-3 innings of no-hit relief and Natalie Titcume hit a two-run homer in a win over Japan in the opening game of the Olympic softball tournament. Harding came off the bench in the first inning to replace starter Brooke Wilkins, who walked five in the first inning to force in two runs for Japan. Harding, a three-time Olympian, then shut down the defending silver medalists the rest of the way, retiring 19 of the 20 batters she faced. Titcume's two-run shot to center field in the fourth gave the Aussies, bronze medal winners in the 1996 Atlanta Games and 2000 Sydney Games, a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning. Although she did little to help, Wilkins combined on the fourth combined no-hitter in Olympic play. Harding and Wilkins held Italy without a hit in 2000, and Wilkins combined with Melanie Roche to no-hit Cuba in Sydney. By using Harding, Australia coach Simon Roskvist will likely start Roche on Sunday against the gold-medal favorite U.S. team. Japan, which is known for its solid defense, made two errors.
