ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 16, 1996 TAG: 9605160145
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
When the 1996 season began, Allegheny (Pa.) College coach Deb Peffer drew 312 softballs on a poster board in a triangular configuration. Each represented one of the 312 NCAA Division III softball teams in the NCAA's Division III.
At that time, Allegheny was the No.3-ranked team in the nation. The former art major colored in the top three balls and told her team, ``There are 309 teams who would love to be in our position.''
The 1996 Division III softball championship begins today at Salem's Moyer Sports Complex, where Ithaca (N.Y.) takes on Simpson (Iowa) at 5 p.m. and Allegheny meets Wisconsin-Stevens Point at 7 p.m. The top two seeds, defending champion Chapman (Calif.) and Trenton (N.J.) State, respectively, received first-round byes. When the first pitch is hurled today, the six championship finalists will be fighting for one position, and it's not No.3.
``I'm trying to point out what a special situation we're in,'' said Peffer, a 1994 Allegheny graduate.
The situation arises more often for some teams than for others. Trenton State, which won the 1994 title in Salem, has appeared in the championship each of the 15 years it has been contested. Simpson, conversely, is making its first appearance. The Storm (29-8) also has a first-year coach, Henry Christowski, but Christowski isn't a stranger to winning. He had 843 victories as a high school coach before replacing Shelley O'Meara, who stepped down for health reasons.
``I had done just about everything else in softball, so I thought it might be a new experience,'' Christowski said.
The Storm had a bad experience getting to Salem when the entire team's luggage and equipment stayed on the ground Tuesday in Detroit as the team left on a connecting flight. The baggage arrived at 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Like Simpson, Wisconsin-Stevens Point has arrived in the championship for the first time. Third-year coach Dean Shuda, a funeral director by trade, has revived the Pointers program with 90 victories in his tenure. Stevens Point lost four consecutive games before its NCAA regional in Whitewater, Wis., but won three of four there to advance to Salem.
``We had a bad three hours at our conference'' tournament, Shuda said. ``We played at noon and by 3 [p.m.] we were done. Luckily, we were given another chance and last weekend did well.''
Shuda said his father, who runs the Shuda Funeral Chapels in Stevens Point, asked him when his vacation would end so he could come back to work. If all goes well, it won't be until after the final game.
The favorites to reach the final game are Chapman and Trenton State. ``Anybody that says they're not is lying,'' Shuda said.
Trenton State is a five-time champion and six-time runner-up. The Lions' roster includes some members of the '94 championship team, but this team also has five freshmen and five sophomores.
``We have some kids on the team who are starters who haven't been part of winning it all,'' said Sally Miller, Trenton State's first-year coach. ``But our veterans know what it takes.''
Chapman co-head coach Lisle Lloyd is the winningest active coach in Division III, with 453 victories. The Panthers' other co-head coach, Lisle's daughter Janet Lloyd, has an .870 winning percentage in two years with the team.
Ithaca and Allegheny have made championship appearances, but neither has a title to its credit. Ithaca has been close lately, placing second in the regional three of the past five seasons. Two of the second-place finishes came after the Bombers swept through the Northeast Region winners' bracket. This time, Ithaca did it from the winners' bracket.WHICH IS WINNERS' AND LOSERS'?
While Ithaca hasn't made it often, the Bombers' coach, Deb Pallozzi, has been a frequent visitor to the championship as a member of the NCAA Division III softball championship committee. ``I always wanted to be here with my team,'' she said.
Allegheny's Peffer came here without her team in 1994, sitting just beyond the outfield fence. She had just finished her senior season with the Gators and said she wanted to see a championship, even if it wasn't as a player.
``It was extremely depressing,'' Peffer said. ``I'm glad to have the opportunity to be back.''
One of the top pitchers on Allegheny's 1994 team was a sophomore named Laurie Machuga. Wednesday, Machuga became the second player (and first pitcher) in Division III history to be named a four-time All-American. Peffer said playing with Machuga was ``boring. The ball doesn't get put into play very often.
``But I'm thrilled to be down on the field this year.''
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