Bay first baseman Kiki Rudden returns in 2008 and is one of six seniors hoping to lead the Rockets to the top of the West Shore Conference and deep into the tournament. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Blue Streaks, Rockets set goals high in 2008
By Jim Horvath
Sports
Published April 2, 2008

As the weather warms up and the ground starts to dry, the 2008 fast pitch softball season will finally move out of area gymnasiums and on to the diamond.

Magnificat, 19-10 last season and a Division I district runner up, returns 10 letter winners and looks to be ready for a strong season under veteran coach Chris Barrow. Also in Division I, nine letter winners will return at St. Joseph Academy under third-year head coach Jim Wiegand.

In Division II, Bay looks ready to recapture its glory days with nine letter winners off last year’s squad that lost to Highland in the district semifinals. Head coach Shannon Andrews begins her third season leading the Rockets.

The area will also see the debut of two new head coaches. Roger Black, the father of former Rocky River standout Leah Black, will take over the Pirate program this season. At Fairview, Nick Wolansky will take over the head spot with the Warriors after three years as an assistant.

Senior pitcher Maureen Spellacy will be a big key in the success of the Magnificat softball team this season. (West Life photo by Larry Bennet)

Blue Streaks’ lineup potent
Magnificat will have a number of strong bats in its lineup, led by senior outfielder Alex Helfrich. Helfrich batted .457 last year with 31 runs scored and a team-leading 13 stolen bases.

Also returning is senior shortstop Brianna Woody, who hit .443, scored 28 runs and drove in 15 more. She also had two home runs, five triples and four doubles. Mary Hyland, a junior, hit .364 last season with 24 runs scored and 17 RBI.

And yes, the twins are back for one more season.

Jacqueline and Maureen Spellacy will be key cogs in the Blue Streak machine in 2008. Jacqueline Spellacy, who catches and plays third, hit .362 last season with 27 RBI, one homer, three triples and a team-leading 10 doubles. Sister Maureen will be the team’s No. 1 pitcher this season after going 11-6 last year with an earned run average of 1.55.

“We have a lot of experience throughout our lineup,” said Barrow. “The front of our lineup is very good, and Maureen is solid when she’s healthy. We’ll go as far as she takes us. If we have a chance to go deep into the tournament, she has to be out there for us.”

Demons look to reload
Westlake coach Tom Shiban begins his seventh season as head coach of the Demons fast pitch program. His team went 19-8 overall last year and 11-3 in the Southwestern Conference, good for second place behind Avon Lake.

“We have a lot of talent, we just don’t have a lot of varsity experience,” said Shiban, who welcomes back just four letter winners after losing eight seniors, seven of them starters, to graduation.

“It’s a big jump from junior varsity to varsity. The key will be to get them as much experience as we can early on and continue to work on the basics and fundamentals. If we do that, we’ll be fine,” he said.

Senior tri-captains Lisa Pogue and Meredith Rocco, along with pitcher Charley Burns, return to lead Shiban’s squad. Pogue, last year’s starting left fielder, hit .244  with three doubles, while Rocco (C-1B) hit .282 with four doubles, a pair of tribles and 13 walks.

Kara Radatz, a junior infielder, is the team’s leading returning hitter. She batted .291 with seven doubles and 12 RBI, while sophomore Abbie Tetzlaff scored seven runs and had a pair of stolen bases as a freshman last season.

The pitching duties will be split between Burns and junior Jammie Alaimo.

North Olmsted rebuilding as well
The Eagles finished 12-12 last year and 8-6 in the SWC for a fourth place finish under head coach Connie Kerr, who begins her 12th season.

“We’re going to work on our skills and just keep working to make ourselves better,” said Kerr, who returns just five letter winners. “I think we could take some knocks this year, but I can also see some potential. If we continue to work to get better, we’re going to be OK.”

Speedster Val Litchney, a senior, hit .306 for the Eagles last year and is a solid contact hitter, according to Kerr. She’ll play the infield along with fellow senior Amanda Hoyt, who hit .290 last year and will also hit somewhere in the top of the batting order.

Senior center fielder Kristen Boomer returns, along with junior infielder Amanda Balasko. Senior Catherine Burns was the team’s No. 2 pitcher last year (2-0) and will share the pitching duties with Lutheran West transfer Megan Helderman, a junior who also plays the infield.

Bulldogs looking to move up
Olmsted Falls finished 7-21 overall last year and 3-11 in the SWC. But head coach Jim Smith sees progress being made as he begins his fifth season.

“We’ve got some ways to go to be able to compete with Avon Lake, but I see ourselves competing with the other six teams in the league,” said Smith, who returns six letter winners. “I’m really excited about our freshman class. We’ve got a nice non-conference schedule that will help us get ready when we take on Brecksville in our league opener.”

Senior pitcher Trisha Brockmore returns after getting the decision in each of Falls’ games last year. Senior Lauren Schlitter will move over to shortstop to make room for freshman catcher Kim Kirkpatrick, who caught Brockmore during the indoor season at Cleveland State.

Junior leadoff hitter Hilary Grasse will again patrol centerfield after leading the team in batting with a .362 average last season. Junior infielder Nicole Cantrell and junior outfielders Amily Abraham and Rachel Hansinger also return for the Bulldogs.

Jaguars bring back experience
St. Joseph Academy will have nine letter winners who will want to improve on last year’s 14-13 mark and first-game outster in the tournament by North Olmsted, according to Wiegand.

“We definitely should be able to win more games this season,” said Wiegand, who team will play its home games at Maplewood Park this season. “If we can stay away from injuries, I think we could be able to advance to district play in the tournament. That hasn’t happened here in seven years.”

Three players will vie for the No. 1 pitching spot. Junior Lauren Kluth went 9-9 last season, while sophomore Maddy Paulett went 4-2 after getting called up from the junior varsity halfway through the season. Freshman Melyssa Moenich brings a power arm to the program, according to Wiegand.

Other returning players include seniors Amy Grabiec (CF-3B, 12 stolen bases), Liz Campion (1B-3B), Ally McGuire (2B-OF), Caitlin Messina (1B-OF), Rachel Hope (1B-OF) and Corrine Stillman (SS-OF), along with junior Emily Mikes (SS-C).

Rockets ready to launch
“We’re really confident, and the team wants to step up and prove they can play with the better teams,” said Andrews of her Bay squad that finished second in the West Shore Conference last year at 10-3, 15-7 overall.

“This core of seniors has played together since they were in the fifth and sixth grade,” said Andrews. “They’ve played travel ball and played together in middle school. They came in as freshmen determined to turn the program around, and now they want to be conference champs. So yes, we have high expectations this season.”

Six seniors will lead the Rockets in 2008, including catcher Heather Lindsay, a first team WSC selection who batted .347 with three home runs. First baseman Kiki Rudden was a second team WSC selection and hit .379, while leadoff hitter and starting shortstop Katie Kinkelaar begins her fourth varsity season after hitting .276 last year. She also had 54 assists and just three errors in the field.

Pitcher Maggie Schwede was 4-4 as the team’s No. 2 pitcher last year, while hitting .278 with 16 RBI. Second baseman Kelly Patzwhal and utility player Dani Sheppa round out the group of seniors.

The top underclassman returning is sophomore centerfielder Sam Kolke, who was first team WSC and second team district after hitting .425 as a freshman.

Warriors have a clear vision
“Our team has a clear vision of where they want to go and how they’re going to get there,” said Wolansky. “We need to jell together as quick as possible because we have a lot of first year players. But they’re all friends and understand the goals that are ahead of them.”

Seniors returning for Fairview are Megan Wolansky (P-SS), Molly Hardesty (2B-SS), Katy Keller (LF), Danie Lisowski (OF-3B) and Brady Lorek (SS-OF), along with sophomore Katie Brown (P-INF). Junior Emily Aldrich will start at catcher this season, filling the shoes of the graduated Shannon Raughlin, who walked on at Kent State.

On the pitching rubber, Brown will be at the top of the rotation followed by junior Kristen Chen, who shows a lot of promise, according to Wolansky.

Pirates’ hitting the key for ‘08
Rocky River has nowhere to go but up after last year’s 2-24 campaign, according to Black.

“We’re going to start two seniors, and we only have three on the roster,” said Black, who will be assisted by his daughter, Leah, who was a star pitcher for River and Rutgers.

“We’ve spent a lot of time on hitting during open gyms and our inside practices,” said Black. “I think that’s going to be our first step back to respectability. Pitching wise, we have five or six girls competing right now. We’ll know more about that in the next two weeks during our intrasquad scrimmages.

“But really, our strong point will be our hitting. And we’re going to win more than two games this season,” he said.

The Pirates will be led by senior co-captains Britt Milla and Megan Shaugnessy, who both play the infield.