TAMPA ― Patriotism and surrealism converge Tuesday night at USF Softball Stadium, where legendary Bulls coach Ken Eriksen will be working from the visitors dugout.

Eriksen, who has collected a majority of his 975 victories from the home side, leads his U.S. Olympic team against the 2020 Bulls in a 6:30 p.m. exhibition to kick off the national team’s “Stand Beside Her” tour.

Tickets, $22 in advance and $25 on game day, can be purchased here.

“Those guys in the USF dugout have complete respect for the ball game itself,” Eriksen said following Monday night’s practice with the Olympic squad. “So to them, it’s gonna be fun to be playing against (the U.S.) with their coach coaching USA Softball.”

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Eriksen, named coach of the Olympic team in May, took a leave of absence from USF’s program last fall to focus exclusively on the national squad, which competes in the Olympics in Tokyo starting July 22.

He has been replaced on an interim basis by 28-year-old assistant Jess Moore, herself a former national team pitcher. USF opens its regular season at home Thursday against Illinois State.

“(Eriksen) is like our dad,” Bulls redshirt junior Bethaney Keen said. “He jokes with us and he really does care, but Coach Jess is doing a phenomenal job and I love that she has that position right now, because I’ve learned a lot from her and I actually really look up to her.”

The “Stand Beside Her Tour,” continuing throughout the country until late June, includes two upcoming stops in Clearwater: this weekend’s NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic, and the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational set for Feb. 13-16. Both events will be held at the Eddie C. Moore Complex.