BLACKTOWN, Australia (AP) -- When she's not throwing no-hitters for the U.S. Olympic softball team, Lori Harrigan works casino security in Las Vegas, a job that requires her to eject prostitutes and shoplifters and fight off the occasional marriage proposal.

 Because she is a supervisor, Harrigan has a staff at her command to take care of all the rough stuff. Although she carries handcuffs, "I've never had to take anybody down by myself."

 But that's exactly what Harrigan did on Sunday (Saturday night EDT), when she pitched the first solo no-hitter in Olympic softball history to open the Americans' gold-medal defense with a 6-0 victory over Canada.

 In other games on the first day of softball competition, Australia beat New Zealand 3-2 in 10 innings, China beat Italy 5-0 and Japan beat Cuba 4-1. The Americans were scheduled to play Cuba in their second game on Monday (Sunday night EDT).

 Two Chinese pitchers combined on a no-hitter in 1996, when softball was added as an official Olympic sport. No one ever had pitched a perfect game in the Olympics.

 American Lisa Fernandez came closest in Atlanta, retiring the first 29 Australian batters before giving up a homer with two outs in the 10th inning. Fernandez also threw five consecutive perfect games on the national team's Olympic tuneup tour this summer -- six straight no-hitters in all.

 That's why it was so surprising that Harrigan, instead of Fernandez, threw the first solo no-no in Olympic history. After all, the 6-foot-1 lefty called "Vegas" is probably the No. 4 pitcher in the U.S. rotation.

 "I think that (New York Yankees manager) Joe Torre would like to have that luxury," U.S. coach Ralph Raymond said. "I'm very fortunate to have five young ladies that I'm quite comfortable pitching in the Olympics."

 Raymond's luxury is that he can save Fernandez for the crucial game against Australia, the only team to beat the Americans in '96. Danielle Henderson was scheduled to pitch the second game of the preliminary round on Monday (Sunday night EDT), followed by Christa Williams, Michelle Smith and Fernandez.

 There are two games after that in the preliminaries, plus two or more in a potential medal round. And softball pitchers, unlike those in baseball, can typically go several days in a row.

 That means that despite her no-hitter, there's no guarantee that Harrigan will pitch again in these games.

 "We have five pitchers on this staff who came from a program where we were a No. 1, we were the call-to person," said Harrigan, who pitched a shutout in her only Atlanta start.

 "The coach can't call on everybody. We have to come in and know what our role is."

 Raymond won't say what he plans to do after the fifth game. But he doesn't agree with the strategy common in college of pitching the ace until she can pitch no more.

 "The reason you see that is, that's the only pitcher they have. They have one really good chucker," he said. "But that's not good policy. I think in the future of softball, you're going to see (less) of that."

 As a security supervisor at the Bellagio hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Harrigan has to handle everything from credit card fraud to medical emergencies. One time, a shoplifter proposed to her.

 "That was just his way of trying to get me not to bust him," she said.

 Although no Canadians tried that, Harrigan's casino job description could just as easily describe a performance in which she struck out five, then finished off the game by fielding a grounder back to the pitcher's circle:

 "We're the first line of defense," she said, "and the last line of defense."

 And, in this game, the only defense the Americans needed.