Oklahoma City, OK - Former Hofstra Softball player Danielle Stewart ('03) and the Australia Softball team advanced to the championship of the 2009 World Cup of Softball with an 8-0 win over Italy on Sunday.

Stewart was 1-for-2 with two runs scored in the win, which enabled Australia to finish 3-2 in pool play, tying it for second with Japan and Canada. The Aussies, which earned the tiebreaker for second place, will meet the United States (5-0) on Monday night at 9 p.m. in a game televised on ESPN2.

Earlier in pool play, Stewart hit a two-run homer against Canada pitcher Danielle Lawrie, who led Washington to the NCAA championship in June. The homer tied the score at 2-2 in Friday's contest, although Canada would later go on to win 3-2.

Last summer, Stewart became the first Hofstra athlete to earn an Olympic medal when she helped Australia earn the bronze medal in Beijing. She also homered against Canada in the Olympics, hitting a tying shot in the fourth inning and coming around later to score the winning run in the sixth in the Aussies' 5-3 win.

Stewart played for two years at Hofstra (2002-03) after transferring from nearby Briarcliffe College and still holds the Pride's school's single-season home run record with 17, which she set as a senior. That season, she helped Hofstra earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, when it would go on to upset 11th-ranked Nebraska 3-1.

In addition to playing for the Australian National team, Stewart has also taken an active role in Back Softball, an organization striving to get softball back into the Olympics in 2016 (softball was one of several sports voted out of the 2012 Olympics in London). She has spoken before the International Olympics Committee (IOC) and at various clinics around the world. She is pictured above speaking on behalf of Back Softball at the Canada Cup earlier this month.

To read an article on Stewart's role with Back Softball, go to the following link:

http://www.canada.com/sports/2010wintergames/Softball+lobby+looking+good/1766907/story.html