ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 3, 1997 TAG: 9704030019
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RANDY KING THE ROANOKE TIMES
Michelle Johnson and Kara Krumhardt are helping to get Virginia Tech's softball program off to a good start.
Scot Thomas always knew he needed to build a recruiting pipeline.
The Virginia Tech women's softball coach just never counted on a pathway for players stretching almost 3,000 miles to another country.
Two of the Hokies' first six scholarships ever offered in softball belong to a pair of Canadians - pitcher Michelle Johnson and third baseman Kara Krumhardt.
``I just kind of stumbled into them,'' said Thomas, who probably thought he'd be recruiting Columbia, S.C., or Columbia, Md., not British Columbia.
``They may not play high school softball in Canada, but the Canadian influence down here in the States with fast-pitch has been pretty awesome.''
Johnson, a junior-college transfer from Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College and Krumhardt, a freshman, grew up minutes apart in the suburbs of Vancouver.
Not that long ago, neither had ever heard of Virginia Tech, much less a Hokie.
``All I knew about Virginia was what I'd heard in history,'' Johnson said. ``And I really didn't learn that much because in high school we did mostly Canadian and world history.
``I did hear we had a lot of Civil War happenings around here. I don't really know the details of them, but I heard that.''
Krumhardt had no official briefing, either.
``My first question was what in the heck is a Hokie?'' she said, laughing. ``I'm like, ``Hokies ... I don't want to be a Hokie.' Now, though, it's kind of like second nature.''
Much like the game has become for these two. Although softball is not a sanctioned high school sport in Canada, Johnson and Krumhardt have been playing competitively long enough to effectively qualify for a pension.
``Both girls played years for club teams in very advanced summer leagues they have up there,'' Thomas said.
``The problem with high school softball is obvious - the weather. Besides, they're still playing hockey in Canada this time of year.''
Johnson and Krumhardt were on the road playing softball long before college. It was nothing for their respective teams to hop on a bus or a plane, travel south to the U.S. and spend a couple weeks playing tournaments.
Both have been living out of duffel bags a long time because of their game.
``We'd travel everywhere,'' said Krumhardt, whose White Rock Renegades club team was Canadian national runner-up in 1994 and '96. ``I loved it. I've been able to see about all the western half of the States due to softball.''
Now comes more dividends. As the game has become increasingly popular on the U.S. college level, the experienced Canadians have found their services much in demand south of the border.
``Almost every player who plays in our organization gets an opportunity to come to school down here,'' Krumhardt said. ``It seems like all my friends are down here playing softball somewhere.
``I remember as a young kid seeing all the older girls in the organization going away to school. I would tell myself, `I want to be like them, I can do that if I wanted.' Pretty much, it was always my dream to go away from home and play softball somewhere.''
Johnson and Krumhardt have gone away, all right. Except for Christmas break and when Tech classes let out for the summer, their only connection back to BC is the telephone.
``Talk about some expensive phone bills,'' Krumhardt said. ``We run 'em up, man.
``Sure, we get homesick. Everybody gets homesick in college. But they have the option of going home and we don't because we're so far away.''
As long as the two Canadians have a bat, a ball and a diamond, they're never too far from home.
Johnson, a 6-foot-1 pitcher, was the first to be led to the BC-to-B'burg pipeline. She spent her first two college years at the highly regarded program of Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College, where she threw nine shutouts and two no-hitters last season.
After weighing her transfer options, Johnson chose Tech and its fledgling second-year program over Georgia Southern and Northern Iowa. But not without reason.
``Rebecca Aase [Hokies assistant] was an assistant at Tallahassee my freshman year,'' said Johnson, who is 5-6 with a 3.25 earned-run average for the 13-19 Hokies.
``I basically followed her up here. When I came here and visited, I fell in love with the place. The leaves were turning. It was so colorful.
``Plus, it was nice to see mountains again. While these mountains are like hills compared to our big mountains back home, it sure beat Florida.''
Johnson's love affair with Tech was soon passed on to Krumhardt. At Johnson's urging, Krumhardt sent Thomas a letter and video. Thomas liked what he found in his mailbox.
``She's a phenomenal player,'' Thomas said of Krumhardt. ``I haven't seen a third baseman yet I would trade her for.''
Krumhardt, a 5-6 freshman, ranks third in hitting (.321) and second in RBI (17) on the club.
Thomas said the two Canadians have fit in well on the Hokies' roster, which is dominated by players from Atlantic Seaboard states.
``Everybody likes 'em,'' Thomas said.
``The funniest thing about 'em was they checked into the dorm last fall. Most kids bring in stuff in suitcases. But these two brought in everything they had in a bunch of hockey bags big enough to fit a couple of our players.''
Of all the adjustments they've had to make, the two Canadians apparently share only one huge concern - taking a Southern accent back home.
``I'm already catching myself saying `y'all' ... every once in a while it just slips out,'' Johnson said. ``If we got back home with that accent, we'll get teased to no end.''
Canadian talent, though, is no longer a tease for Thomas, who in two years will be armed with a fully funded program offering the NCAA limit of 12 scholarships.
``I've made a lot of good connections up there now,'' said Thomas, who went to Manitoba to see Krumhardt play in last year's Canadian national tournament.
``I think the Canadian kids have a little something to prove down here in the States and they don't want to disappoint us. They know we've spent a lot of time on them to bring them this far from home.''
Thomas then picked up his mail. There was a letter postmarked British Columbia.
Another candidate for his pipeline?
``The door's open,'' Thomas said.
LENGTH: Long : 126 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: GENE DALTON THE ROANOKE TIMES. Virginia Tech softballby CNBplayers Kara Krumhardt (left) and Michelle Johnson are a long way
from their home in British Columbia. But they've been traveling to
play softball in the United States for several years.