Columnist: Especially when it’s for the gold in Atlanta

Tuesday, July 9, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

The preliminaries are over for Lori Harrigan and her U.S. Olympic softball teammates. The time has come to get down to business.

Team USA completed a three-month nationwide tour last Saturday in preparation for the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta, now just 10 days away. The odyssey consisted of 61 games (of which the U.S. won 60), a feverish travel schedule and numerous personal appearances.

Harrigan, a two-time All-American pitcher for UNLV from 1991-92, is quite happy to put the grueling stretch behind her. In her adopted home town of Las Vegas for a week's rest before heading to Georgia for final tuneups, she said it's time to let the Games begin.

"The tour was really hectic," Harrigan said Monday. "We'd usually fly in, play two games and then make appearances. We were always having two-hour autograph sessions at supermarkets. It seems I've been on a plane, a bus or a van every day for the past three months.

"Like a lot of the girls, I'm glad the tour is over. Now we can get on to the big stuff. We're really excited about the Games."

The 25-year-old has every reason to be excited going into Atlanta, especially owing to her performance during the recent tour. In 12 appearances and 77 innings of work, Harrigan posted a 12-0 record with a sparkling 0.12 ERA. She struck out 143 of the 264 batters she faced, allowing just 12 walks and one earned run.

"I'm happy with my performance for right now -- but only for right now," she said. "I don't think I've reached my peak yet. I think I have a lot more to give to softball. It's a matter of where I take it from here. I think I'm prepared mentally and physically."

The same can be said for her team. The U.S. softball team is 110-1 in international competition since 1986, with the lone loss a 1-0 defeat at the hands of China last year. The United States opens play in the '96 Games, the first-ever at which softball is a medal sport, against Puerto Rico July 21.

"I think we are our own biggest threat," Harrigan said.

"Most teams are going to come in with better teams then we've seen. But really, the only way we should lose is if we just come in, throw our gloves on the field and think we're going to win. We've dominated at the international level over the years, and we want to keep it that way."

Another Dream Team?

The U.S. squad, like its "Dream Team" basketball counterparts, is such an overwhelming favorite that people already have awarded them the gold medal.

"We've been introduced at appearances as the gold medalists," Harrigan said. "They call us the Dream Team. We don't like that at all. We usually make them take it back. We can't take anything for granted. There's always a thought in the back of our heads that we could lose. That's good, but we want to keep it way back there."

Team USA is coached by 72-year-old Ralph Raymond, for whom Harrigan played in the Connecticut Summer League as a member of the nationally renowned Raybestos Brakettes. One of five quality starting pitchers, Harrigan said she usually doesn't get much prior notice before taking to the mound.

"We usually don't know who's pitching until the day of the game or the night before," said Harrigan. "He (Raymond) works on hunches and feelings. But with the pitching staff we have, he can go with anybody and they'll do a great job."

Harrigan said she is especially proud of the fact she will be among the first women to make a bid for Olympic gold in her chosen sport, and added she enjoys the accompanying responsibilities of being a role model.

"We've had a lot of pioneers in this sport who we look up to," she said. "We're kind of taking it forward from them. We are the Olympians that younger players can look up to."

Rebel record-holder

The road to the Olympics began for Harrigan as a younster in her native California, where she was heavily involved in sports along with her three brothers and one sister.

"I was raised in an athletic family," she said. "We were always into a wide range of activities. I did cheerleading, volleyball -- you name it. Eventually, I found what I did best and went with it."

She parlayed her talent into a scholarship to UNLV in 1989. During her four-year Rebel career, Harrigan led UNLV to three NCAA Tournament appearances and two trips to the College World Series, becoming the first Rebel to win 20 games in a season (1990).

Harrigan holds 15 UNLV career records, including wins (83), saves (7), strikeouts (725), ERA (0.77), complete games (123), shutouts (53) and innings pitched (1,034.). She hurled five no-hitters and the school's only perfect game (1-0 over Missouri in '92). She was named UNLV's Sportswoman of the Year for 1991-92.

On the international scene, Harrigan has competed for the U.S. as a three-time member of the national team, which has traveled to Australia, China and Holland. She also played for Team USA at the Pan American Games.

Despite her impressive credentials, Harrigan had to undergo a tough, three-year tryout to make the Olympic squad. Throughout the numerous evaluations and competitions, detailed information concerning on- and off-the-field activities was gathered for each potential player and coach.

The journey culminated in a final tryout in September 1995, and the posting of an official team list -- one day before her birthday.

"We had to wait all night and I couldn't sleep," Harrigan said. "I couldn't even go down to see the list. I had to send somebody to check it for me. I had the most stress in my life those three years. Now, going into the Olympic Games, I don't feel anything close to the stress I felt then."

Promising future

When the Atlanta Games end, Harrigan will set her sights on a future, which includes her job at a Las Vegas network marketing company. She also plans to open her own pitching school. And she's even contemplating a bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

But, she says, "I'd need to take some time away from softball. I do have a job here in Las Vegas which has been very supportive of me and I must take into consideration."

That's still the distant future. Next up is the fulfillment of a dream and the experience of representing her country on the world's largest international athletic stage.

"It was exciting just to go through the USOC (United States Olympic Committee) processing last week," Harrigan said. "We got all of our apparel -- even the suits to wear during the medal ceremony -- and that was something.

"I've been through the opening ceremonies at the Pan American Games and the feeling was unreal. Everybody says these opening experiences will be much more exciting. I guess I won't be able to put it all into words until I actually experience it."