It wasn't some sort of cruel punishment or boot camp exercise Tuesday when Robert Morris softball coach Craig Coleman set up the pitching machine about 25 feet from the batting cage, cranked the setting and sent his players to the plate.

It was what he could come up with to try to prepare his team to take on Team USA tonight at Consol Energy Field as part of the American squad's pre-Olympic tour.

"I would call it as close to a simulation of what we're going to do [tonight] as we can get with a pitching machine," Coleman said yesterday morning as he and others prepared for a walk-through at the Washington County ballpark.

Team USA, seeking its fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal before softball is phased out after the Games this summer, is 26-1 -- with a surprising loss to Virginia Tech -- on its 45-city tour.

"We love going to different places and getting to see different fans," pitcher Cat Osterman said after the team practiced at North Allegheny High School in the afternoon. Osterman, Monica Abbott and Jennie Finch will pitch tonight, with Finch starting.

The Pittsburgh Power, a local softball organization that has 17 fast-pitch travel teams, worked with the Amateur Softball Association to get a stop on the tour.

Chuck Fickter, a board member of the Power, said the original wish was to have the event at PNC Park, but talks with the Pirates broke down over cuts to the infield grass and various costs.

As it is, Consol Energy Park is sold out, with officials hoping to add outfield standing areas for game-day sales if weather and field conditions permit.

"If we had a bigger park, we could have sold 12,000 to 15,000 tickets," Fickter said.

The timing works out well for Robert Morris, which has finished its regular season. The Colonials (26-18, 13-3 Northeast Conference) are the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament beginning May 9.

"It's an incredible honor for us. This will be just an incredible opportunity for our kids," said Coleman, who worked to ensure the exhibition game was a surprise for his players.

He brought his seniors to the news conference at Consol Energy Park and let them find out along with everyone else when the announcement was made in January. He also confiscated their cell phones so they couldn't tell their teammates.

Later that day, at practice, Coleman handed out what he told the players was a tougher, revised schedule and waited.

"I gave them a few minutes to look at it, and one of them screamed," he said. "They were absolutely in shock."