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Harre joins USA Team Elite, play in 1st World University Softball Championships

After a summer full of success and national attention, SIU senior standout pitcher Amy Harre has been invited to the join USA Team Elite. The team will represent the United States at the first World University Softball Championships Oct. 26-31 in Plant City, Fla.

According to Harre, USA Team Elite is just one tier below the U.S. Olympic team.

This past summer, Harre played for the Carbondale Cougars, an ASA Women's Major softball team. The Cougars were invited to play at the Champions Cup Softball Tournament in Irvine, Calif., which featured teams, including those from Australia, Canada and Taiwan, heading to the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Harre impressed both the USA and international teams at the tournament by holding the Australian Olympic team, ranked third in the world at the time, to a mere four hits while striking out six batters in a 1-0 loss.

"She threw so well that it kind of opened up some people's eyes," SIU softball head coach Kerri Blaylock said. "They recognized her and started asking questions."

Harre became the first Southern Illinois area softball player to reach the level of a USA national team.

"I was just elated," Blaylock said. "We have never had a player picked for the national team, and you are just excited for her and the possibilities that it brings to her and the team."

Blaylock received a call from a Team USA spokesperson to give the announcement that Harre was invited to join the USA Team Elite.

"I was very, very surprised," Harre said. "I knew for about two weeks that it could be an option but didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to get my hopes up at all."

Harre will fly down on Oct. 24 to practice with the team the next day and begin competition on Oct. 26.

She will compete against teams from Australia, Canada, China, Taiwan, Guatemala, Japan, Netherlands, Russia and Uganda.

Harre will be placed among some of the top players from around the U.S., including five members from UCLA, the 2004 NCAA Women's College World Series champions.

"They have such different experience than I had. Almost every person has probably played in the World Series and they've had high-profile exposure," Harre said. "I'm kind of the rookie coming in, and I don't really know much and I'm just there to learn and have a good experience."

Harre will be essentially subbing for the last tournament of the season before tryouts, which she plans to attend, for the USA national team in January.

"I think after January I will know where I stand on all levels," Harre said. "Right now, it's just everything is up in the air."

She also hopes this tournament will prove to be a stepping stone and give her the needed exposure to help her cause.

Blaylock said that Harre, who is majoring in pharmacy, would still take her pharmacy entrance exam, though she has decided to pursue her USA softball dreams.

"There might be pro opportunities also," Blaylock said. "But she wants to explore USA softball as far as she can."