Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 17, 1994 TAG: 9403180254
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BRIAN DeVIDO STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Competent hurlers, operating at the top of their game, are more important to a team than a speedy car is to Jose Canseco.
Well, maybe not that important.
Nevertheless, Salem's pitching staff of sophomore Rhonda Rankin and senior Pam Glosser should keep the Spartans competitive in the race for the Blue Ridge District softball title. That's good news for Salem, which has made it to the Group AA Region III tournament in all eight years of the program.
"That'll keep us in most games every time," said James Wright, the Spartans' coach.
Rankin, an all-district selection who posted a 10-2 record with a 0.91 earned run average and batted .443 with eight home runs, is the harder thrower of the two. Her fastball has been clocked in the high 60s. Glosser, who was 7-3 with a 1.95 ERA in 1993, uses the change-up to confuse batters.
"Pam's delivery looks like it's a change-up every pitch," Wright said. "Both have excellent control. Having them keeps other teams off balance."
Erica Lokey, a freshman, also will be part of the rotation, although she is expected to make fewer starts than Rankin and Glosser.
"We're going to be competitive within the district," said Wright, who has six starters back from a team that went 21-5. "Our infield is intact, but we lost our outfield."
Also in the Blue Ridge District:
\ Lord Botetourt, the 1993 regular-season district champion, has six returning starters. Senior first baseman Ashley Moore and senior shortstop Mandy Sowers lead an experienced squad. Moore was second-team All-Group AA last year, and Sowers was an all-district selection.
"Pitching is a question mark," said Andy Ward, the Cavaliers' coach. "If we can fill our pitching needs, we can be very competitive. We've got a lot of good, experienced players coming back."
\ William Byrd, coming off a third-place finish in the district, has strong pitching and five starters back. Junior Tracy Doupnik and sophomore Tamasa Adams will be the aces for the Terriers. Junior catcher Wendy Hayden, another returning starter, also is strong.
"I'm very pleased with the ones we have," said Billy Meador, Byrd's coach. "I've said all along that Salem and Botetourt are the teams to beat. We're hoping to be in the hunt. It's going to be a real tough district."
Lynn Richmond said her Northside team will be much improved from last year's fifth-place district finish. The Vikings have seven returning starters, including senior shortstop Michelle Orlando, senior pitcher/third baseman Shannon Yopp and senior outfielder Teresa Harris. Orlando had 18 stolen bases last year, and Yopp batted .400.
In the Roanoke Valley District:
\ Cave Spring, has five starters back from a team that won the district and finished 20-3 last year. The question mark, however, is pitching, where the Knights have very little experience. Juniors Shannon Smithson (third base) and Amy Popik (first base) lead the Knights, along with sophomore outfielder Kara Whitney, junior center fielder Ellen Jamison and senior second baseman Beth Drombetta.
"Pitching's the name of the game, and I just don't know how it's going to be," said Harold Minnix, Cave Spring's coach. "We may have to score a lot of runs to win ballgames. This could be a very, very tight year in the district. It's going to be a fun year because everybody's going to be in the scramble."
\ Patrick Henry has six starters returning from a team that finished third in the district last year. Junior pitcher Michelle King, an all-district selection as a utility player, and sophomore left-hander Erica Carter, lead the pitching. Seniors Emily Pecoul (first base) has been all-district three years in a row, and outfielder Pam Witten was an all-district selection, too.
"We should be the best we've been since we've had softball at PH," said Lloyd Woods, coach of a program that has been around for seven years.
\ William Fleming didn't win any games last year and has a lot of freshmen on this year's squad. Four starters return for Louise Thompson's team.
"I think they'll progress and we'll do all right," she said. "You'll see a difference as the year goes on."
In the Pioneer District, Glenvar has five starters returning from a team that won the Region C tournament and made it to a state semifinal last year. Two all-region selections, junior shortstop Kristi Robinson and senior catcher Jennifer Dennis, lead the team.
However, pitching is a concern for coach Spike Harrison.
"We started slow last year and we actually got going," he said. "I've got to remind myself not to panic."
\ James River will build around returning All-Timesland outfielder Kara Mundy, who hit .525 and stole 16 bases. Mundy will also handle a lot of the pitching chores. She was backup pitcher a year ago.
The Knights will also return second-team All-Timesland designated hitter Amber Vines, who hit .515.
\ Craig County figures to be better this year under new coach Rachel Meeks.
\ In the Seminole District:
\ Liberty, coming off a 13-5 season, should be strong again. The Minutemen have only three starters back, but first-year coach David Grant coached the junior varsity last year, which went 11-1. Many of those players will play key roles of this year's squad.
Junior pitcher Carla Goff, senior shortstop Melissa Dooley and senior first baseman Joanne Harris will lead the team.
\ Staunton River finished near the bottom of the district, but seven of its 11 losses were by two runs or one. Five starters return to the Golden Eagles. Senior pitcher April Mullins had a school-record 110 strikeouts last year, and junior catcher Sherry Simmons will help lead the offense.
\ In the Blue Ridge Conference:
\ Roanoke Valley Christian has three starters returning to a team that won the conference's Southern Division last year.
Junior pitcher Amy Helton, sophomore second baseman Amy Ford, sophomore shortstop Amy Coons and sophomore third baseman Niki Turner - a transfer from Cave Spring - lead the team.
"We're very young," said Bobby Dixon, the Eagles' coach. "We need to find an outfield. We lost our entire outfield."
\ Roanoke Catholic also will be very young. The Celtics, who were 7-7 a year ago, have one starter back. She is senior shortstop Liz Landry, an all-conference selection who batted .400 last year.
Just how young is Roanoke Catholic?
"There was a question of whether we were going to have a team," said John Cooke, the Celtics' coach. "We're hurting for numbers. It's going to be a rough year, but the girls are so young that if we stay together, we can get back to where we have been. We've probably got more trophies at Catholic in softball than any other sport."
\ North Cross has six returning starters from a squad coming off a 6-8 season.
Junior pitcher Blair Calvert, who batted .527, was a first-team all-state selection. Seniors Leslie Dodson (second base), Ellen Brenner (left field) and Caroline Jones (shortstop) also are key players. The outfield is the Raiders' big question mark.
by CNB