THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505190172
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 26 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines
THREE PITCHERS, ONE BALL.
That was the pre-season dilemma facing Western Branch softball coach Chris Ake, who found herself with an embarrassment of riches at the game's most important position.
There was Nicole Belote, an All-Tidewater selection and the acknowledged ace. There was also Jaci Morris, an all-around athletic stud who just happened to throw one of the fastest balls in the area. And let's not forget Sarah Wolf, who was good enough to pitch roughly a third of the games during the Bruins' march to the Group AAA state tournament a year ago.
Solomon would have probably split the innings equally among the three. Ake is no Solomon. She put Morris in center, Wolf at second and gave Belote the ball - all the time.
But as with most of the moves the two-time Group AAA state championship coach has done with the Bruins, this one seems to be working. Belote has been dominant on the mound, while Wolf and Morris have been key members of perhaps the area's best defense.
The Bruins, despite a late season loss to Great Bridge, still enjoy a lead over the Wildcats and could clinch the district regular-season title and automatic Eastern Region tournament berth with a win over Indian River on Tuesday.
And, perhaps more importantly, no one is complaining about their role.
``I'm actually more comfortable on second,'' said Wolf, a senior who has pitched only two measly innings this season. ``I still like to pitch, but I don't think I have the speed necessary.''
Pitching speed, no. Bat speed? You bet. As of May 15, Wolf was hitting a robust .463 - second on the team among regulars - with 11 RBI. She also has drawn a team-high 13 walks and also leads the club with 33 runs scored.
Morris also is tearing it up at the plate. A first-team All-District pick a year ago, the powerful junior has a staggering .842 slugging percentage with five home runs. Her 30 RBI lead the team by 13, and her .439 batting average ranks third among the Bruins.
Like Wolf, Morris also likes to pitch. Unlike Wolf, Morris has speed to burn. Ake said her center fielder can bring it as fast as Great Bridge's Denise Wack and significantly faster than anyone else in the league.
Control is a bit of a problem. Morris has walked 24 in 20-plus innings, although some of the wildness can be attributed to a lack of work.
Still, Ake is confident that Wolf or Morris would get the lion's share of innings on virtually any team in the area.
Of course, those other teams don't have a Nicole Belote.
The junior came into the year off a dazzling 1994 campaign. Although she wasn't the only pitcher, Belote was usually on the mound against the tougher opponents, and she rarely failed to deliver the victory.
But when it came time to select the All-District team, Ake was shocked to see Belote relegated to the second team, behind Great Bridge's Stacey Adamson.
Ake said she doesn't want to take anything from Adamson - and considering her 17-6-1 record and only 17 walks in 118 innings, there isn't much that can be taken away from Adamson.
What rankled Ake is that, since she held Belote out of games against some of the weaker teams, three league coaches felt they couldn't vote for her because they hadn't seen her.
``I felt like they should have both been first team,'' Ake said.
So while getting Belote individual honors isn't the lone factor driving the decision to let her be the sole pitcher, it certainly plays in.
Of course, none of this would matter if Belote wasn't doing the job. But Belote has been brilliant so far this season, logging a 13-3 record with a 1.71 ERA.
Hardly a power pitcher (76 Ks in 98-plus innings), Belote succeeds by keeping the hitters off balance by changing speeds and mixing up her pitches.
``I don't have the speed Jaci does,'' Belote said. ``Against Churchland (an 8-0 Western Branch victory), I think I only threw four fastballs the whole game.''
It's a style that calls for a good defense, and, for the most part, the Bruins have made the plays in the field.
``The people behind me make all the difference in the world,'' Belote said.
Belote also helps herself at the plate, as she leads the team with a .491 batting average. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER
Sarah Wolf, Nicole Belote and Jaci Morris pitch for Western Branch,
leading the team to the area's top ranking.
by CNB