By Greg Lewis

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

CHINO HILLS – Like every other softball team that has played against Team USA on their “Central Park to Sydney” pre-Olympic tour, the Southern California All-Stars could not notch a victory.

The All-Stars, featuring some of the best college players in the country, ran into the brick wall that U.S. pitching has become this summer. The U.S. has allowed only four runs in over 300 innings. SoCal did, however, become only the fourth team in 57 games to score a run against Team USA.

The pair of doubleheaders featured a total of nine past, current and future Bruins. Alumni Sheila Cornell-Douty (’84), Dr. Dot Richardson (’83), Lisa Fernandez (’93), Jennifer Brundage (’95) and Christie Ambrosi (’99) join current Bruin juniors Stacey Nuveman and Amanda Freed on the National Team, while sophomore Natasha Watley and incoming freshman pitcher Kiera Goerl played for the All-Stars.

Pitcher Lori Harrigan proved to be only the opening act for team USA in the first game Friday night. Harrigan shut down SoCal in the U.S.’s 6-0 victory, but the tension came when Lisa Fernandez took the mound in the second game.

Coming into the game, Fernandez had a streak of five consecutive perfect games and 37 straight perfect innings. In her last appearance, she had a perfect perfect game, striking out all 21 batters she faced. Fernandez retired 111 straight batters, including striking out the first 10 in Chino before walking 2000 NCAA home-run champion Jenny Topping. Fernandez had 33 consecutive strikeouts before Nicole Thompson grounded out to short in the fourth inning.

“This is as well as I’ve pitched in my entire life,” Fernandez said. “My confidence level is way up, more than it was in Atlanta (before the 1996 Olympics). I’ve been working on throwing my riseball, and the drop, mixing up the two.”

Team USA won Friday’s second game 3-0.

Fernandez has been dominating since the tour began June 2. She has six perfect games and a current streak of six consecutive no-hitters and 134 hitless batters. She has also struck out 162 batters while walking only two in 67 innings, and has not allowed a single run on the tour.

In the first game Saturday, Freed took the circle for Team USA, allowing one hit and no runs in four innings. She took a shot off the right knee in the third inning, but stayed in the game.

“Playing 60 games over the summer right after playing 60 in the college season is kind of tough,” said Freed, who joined the tour immediately after she finished spring quarter finals. “But it’s so much fun playing you don’t think about it.”

“I’m still adjusting to the 40 feet (as compared to the pitching distance of 43 feet in college),” she added. “You have to change where the ball breaks.”

The All-Stars lost Saturday’s first game 3-0, but saved their best for last. In the fourth game of the series, the All-Stars sent out just-graduated Oregon State star Tarrah Beyster to square off against Christa Williams. SoCal finally plated a run in the seventh inning when incoming Arizona freshman Kim Balkan singled home Thompson.

USA, however, had already pushed two runs across, the first on a Fernandez triple followed by a Brundage double in the fourth inning, and the second an inning later on Teri Klement-Goldberg’s solo home run to left. The National team won the last game 2-1.

Pitching in her last major local performance before becoming a collegian was Goerl, who threw a total of four innings in the two Friday games.

Goerl, who has lots of international experience with the Junior Olympic team, had a simple answer when asked why she chose UCLA.

“How could I not?” she said.

Despite UCLA’s depth at pitching with Freed, Courtney Dale and Stephanie Swenson, Goerl is confident she will play. “I’m not going to redshirt. I’m a pitcher, and I’m going to pitch,” she said.

Freed, who has played against Goerl before, agreed that Goerl is talented.

“She throws a real heavy ball, and her location is good, she hits her spots,” Freed said.

The game was also a semi-homecoming for many of the Team USA players who hail from Southern California.

“It’s good to be back home. We haven’t gotten a chance to play in front of our families and friends for a long time,” Cornell-Douty said.

Ambrosi echoed the sentiment.

“After 60 games, it’s good to be back here. They missed (my home state of) Kansas, so this was the closest I got to home.”

Ambrosi has decided that she will begin her acting career in Los Angeles when she returns from the Sydney.

This was the final game of the National Team’s pre-Olympic tour before they head out to Hawaii to face off against the WPSL All-Stars Sept. 2 and 3. After Hawaii, the team will head for the Sydney and the 2000 Olympics. USA is favored to repeat as gold medalists, but will face stiff competition from their arch-rival and the hometown favorite Aussies.

Australia also features two former Bruins on their roster, Tanya Harding and Kerry Dienelt.