By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
The United States Olympic Softbal team is in the midst of a 22-city exhibition tour to prepare for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Athens.
The tour will make a stop Friday at the Belleville Softball Complex in South Bend, Ind.
Games open at 3:30 p.m. (Michigan time) to allow fans a chance to watch Team USA take batting practice and infield practice.
The first pitch of the exhibition twinbill is scheduled for 6 p.m.
The game is sold out.
The Olympic softball team is made up of some of the top players in the United States, including Laura Berg, Lisa Fernandez, Amanda Freed, Leah O'Brien-Amico, Natasha Watley and Jennie Finch.
The team is coached by Mike Candrea of Arizona.
The Olympic team, which also made a stop in South Bend in 2000, will play against a group of college All-Stars, including former Edwardsburg standout Vicki Nelson, who played at Toledo.
The University of Notre Dame will be well represented on the squad as seven members of the All-Star team are current Fighting Irish players.
They are Heather Booth, Stephanie Brown, Megan Ciolli, Gessica Hefnagle, Sara Schoonaert, Steffany Steinlein and Carrie Wisen.
The team is being coached by Dawn Austin, who played at Penn State and was an assistant coach at Notre Dame. She has also been a head coach at Goshen College.
The Olympic team will take batting practice from 3:45 p.m. until 5.
The collegiate team will then take infield practice at 5:30 with the Olympic team to follow at 5:40.
The team introductions and National Anthem will take place at 5:50 with the first pitch at 6.
An autograph session is scheduled after the completion of the second game. Further details will be available at the complex.