Times staff writers take a look back at the Centennial Games

I have covered a lot of memorable games--Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie’s miracle pass to beat Miami comes to mind--but never one quite like Australia’s 2-1 victory over the U.S. softball team.

Never had I witnessed a game in which:

--A player hit a home run and forgot to touch home plate. Dani Tyler’s fifth-inning homer should have given the United States a 1-0 victory in regulation. But no, Tyler did the old Curly shuffle at home and was called out on appeal.

--A pitcher lose a perfect game on a two-run homer. Impossible? Not in international softball because after nine innings of a tie game, each batting team starts with a runner at second. After retiring the first 29 batters she had faced, U.S. pitcher Lisa Fernandez had a 1-0 lead, two outs and a 1-2 count on Aussie Joanne Brown in the bottom of the 10th before, KA-POW! Game over.