Olympics victory thrill of a lifetime

Thursday, July 25, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

LAS VEGANLori Harrigan, a two-time All-America softball pitcher at UNLV, is pitching for Team USA at the Summer Games in Atlanta. She is chronicling the Olympic experience for the SUN in a daily column

COLUMBUS, Ga. -- I've competed in a lot of tournaments, but nothing like this.

Pitching in the Olympics in front of 9,000 people was a tremendous thrill, one I'll always remember. We beat Taiwan 4-0 and I pitched a two-hitter, which I was very pleased with. More importantly, we're still undefeated going into our three toughest games -- Canada today, Australia Friday and China Saturday. Our goal is to go undefeated and I think we will, given the way we're playing.

It was a long day. I had trouble falling asleep and I think it was sometime after 1 in the morning that I finally managed to get to sleep. I guess I was a little more nervous than I thought. I was up at 5 because we had a 9 a.m. game, so I didn't get much rest.

But I felt good warming up and even though my finger was killing me, I still had pretty good stuff. I had my curve, my changeup and my screwball working, so I didn't worry about trying to throw the knuckleball. I wasn't really overpowering, as I only had five strikeouts, but of their two hits, one was a dink and they only hit one ball hard.

Sheila Cornell hit another home run and she's really on fire. It may have been the fewest runs we've scored so far, but four was more than enough.

I tried not to notice the crowd. But in the last inning, they were screaming and clapping so loud with every pitch, you couldn't help but hear them. I ended the game with a strikeout and seeing all the fans screaming was great. The support is unbelievable, especially on such a hot day like Wednesday was. The heat didn't bother me, though my uniform was absolutely soaked from sweat after the game.

I have no idea when or if I'm going to pitch again in the Olympics. That's up to our coach. But even if I don't, just getting a chance to be part of it and to pitch even once is something I'll always cherish.

When I got back to the room, there were a lot of pages and messages. People from work called and they were all so excited. I've been on the phone a lot.

As I said, we've got some big games coming up, beginning today with Canada. I'm sure I won't have any trouble sleeping and I'm looking forward to today. You can be sure I'll be getting all over Chris (Parris) and Shan (McDonald), my old teammate and coach from UNLV. We're starting Michelle Granger today and she's pumped up.

We're halfway through the tournament, but it seems like we've been here forever. Fortunately, we're playing every day so you don't really get bored. You go to the stadium, play the game, get something to eat and relax. It's actually a pretty good routine.

I know a lot of you are pulling for me and the team and I just want to tell you again how much I appreciate your support. Knowing you're behind me gives me added incentive, and a week from now, I hope to be back in Las Vegas with a gold medal.