One thing about the high school season is you not only see what teams are the best, you get to see players really step up… the Wendy’s Classic over the weekend was a good example and we have some stats from that event to prove it.  Also, we have some event and recruiting news to catch up on…

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MORE FROM THE WENDY’S CLASSIC…

*** Saturday’s championships in three “colored” pools—Red, Black and Yellow—saw fantastic pitching from two of the best in the country.

You know about Indiana signee Tara Trainer, who was a USA Today Pre-Season All-American out of Lebanon (Ohio) High.

Tara made a big slash as a freshman but missed most of her sophomore season after a near-fatal car crash. Last year she went 19-1 with a 0.45 ERA and 256 K’s for a team that went to the semis before losing to the eventual state champion, Hoover out of North Canton led by Univ. of Oregon phenom freshman Jenna Lilley.

Tara has picked up where she left off last year and has a 7-0 record, 0.15 ERA and 99 K’s in 47 innings. She already has a perfect game and a few no-hitters and six out of her seven starts have ended in shutout wins.

What’s going to help Tara out a lot come playoff time is she has a great complementary pitcher in Kim Frank, a Toledo signee, who is 5-0 with 56 K’s in 32 innings and a 0.82 ERA.

The two also help themselves at the plate: Both lead the team with 13 RBI with Frank hitting .500 (22-for-44) while Trainer is batting .471.

*** The 2017 class is loaded with elite pitchers: Alexis Holloway (Notre Dame), Alex Wilcox (Mississippi State), Lauren Mathis (Georgia), Gabby Sprang (Tennessee) and Lauren Rice (Missouri), but one who could be in the top 1-3 by the time it’s all done is one who was a relative unknown as of last summer.

Kelsey Oh, a Boston College commit who plays for the Jersey Intensity club team, is having an All-American type year so far for her Mt. St. Dominic (N.J.) High team which won its pool at Wendy’s.

Kelsey throws in the mid 60’s with good movement on her rise and curve and made a splash last spring when pitched 13 innings and struck out 10 to lead her team to the Non-Public A state championship.

She is 12-1 this year after this weekend and in 75 innings has allowed just 16 hits and no earned runs. That’s right—in 13 games, no earned runs—while she’s struck out 140.

Kelsey is also doing it at the plate with a .524 average and has good support behind her with senior second baseman Ally Dabroski (Rhode Island signee) hit .465 and junior infielder Helyna Bissell (Morehead State commit) batting .396.

Two freshman who will help MSD be a force for the next few years along with Kelsey Oh are infielder/pitcher Julianna Kocenski, batting .488, and infielder Sarah Taffet, hit .464.

EVENTS

*** A nice friendly is shaping up for this weekend in Georgia as put together by Mike Bagarose of the EC Bullets.

On April 24-25, the Bullets are hosting some of the top teams in the Peach State and the South East for some younger competition… teams confirmed include:

• TN Fury’99 (the flagship team by Jeremy Higdon-Scenic City Showcase Director)
• Atlanta Premier – Perkins (ASA 1st berth winner, coached by Sharon Perkins, the former Georgia Tech head coach)
• GA Force – Haag (a top 30 finish at PGF, in the Full Count Club Rankings top 50)
• Team Georgia (ASA 1st berth winner-runner up 2014 ASA State)
• Georgia Elite (coached by Maya Branch, a former Georgia player)
• East Cobb Bullets – Pointer (ASA 3rd Place)
• Atlanta Vipers
• Gap00
• Worth Cobras
• GA Fire

*** In a recent Recruiting News & Notes (4/12) we told you how pitcher/infielder Brittany Finney, the senior headed to Oklahoma who has been part of several Bishop Carroll High (Wichita, Kan.) state championships, set the state career record with her 26th home run.

Well, apparently the word is out that you don’t take the risk pitching to to Brittany because last Thursday in a a double-header against Maize South–in what was a rematch of last year’s state championship game, Finney was intentionally walked seven times!

The walks ranged from no outs and no one one to having the bases loaded in the first game to the lead-off batter in the second game.

That’s respect!

In the first game, the USA Preseason All-American threw a two-hit shutout in a 3-0 win.  In the second game, the BC bats came alive and the team won 12-2 in five innings to move to 10-0 on the season.

RECRUITING:

*** A player whose stock is rising from the 2018 class is Sydney Guess, a lefty 1B/OF who plays for the Richmond Diamonds 18U team led by Coach Walter Pettus.

Several sources have spoken highly about the freshman who attends Lee-Davis High in Mechanicsville, Va. and has a 3.8 GPA (she’s already taking Advanced English, Biology and World History).

Sydney has attended some Scout Softball events and she is rated by Scout as the No. 1 first baseman in the class and No. 11 player overall.

The scouting report we have on her is she is an excellent hitter who has big-time power potential and can hit for average to all fields. Defensively, Sydney has a 62 mph overhand throw she’s above average in her mechanics and fundamentals and has a high softball IQ.

Said one source, “Syd is the real deal, she’s quiet and humble but has a great future and will be a steal for someone who looks at her because she’s flying under the radar right now.”

So far for her high school team, ranked No. 1 in the Metro-Richmond area, she’s hitting .478 with an on-base percentage over .500.

It’s early in the recruiting process but she’s hearing from/interested in East Carolina, Coastal Carolina, James Madison, Central Arkansas and Elon.

Here’s a video of her hitting:

*** In January, we profiled Camryn Michallas, an infielder from Huntington, W.V., who plays for her father, Rod’s, WV Dusters 16U team and also will play this year with the Beverly Bandits DeMarini 14U team.

Camryn is having a strong spring, hitting .532 for her 12-1 Huntington High team and has three home runs, a team-leading 18 RBI and six steals.

She’s hearing from Michigan, Missouri, Virginia Tech, James Madison and Marshall at this point.

Here’s a video clip of her in action hitting and in the field:

*** Some news out of the Beverly Bandits organization:

• SS/2B Lea Thompson, a 2016 commit to Iowa, is now playing for the Bandits. She was previously with Carolina Elite Team Mizuno 16U and is from Indianapolis. Lea is a lefty hitter who has a 4.25 GPA and attends Scecina Memorial High
• SS/P Odicci Alexander, a 2016 commit to James Madison, has joined the Bandits after playing previously for the Lake County Crushers (Ill.).
• P/1B Chardonnay Harris-Leark, a 2017 commit to Auburn, is now with the Birmingham Thunderbolts after playing for the Bandits last year. She was with the Lemont Rockers last January (2014) when she committed to the Tigers and we did a Player Profile on her then… here’s that profile:

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PLAYER PROFILE: CHARDONNAY HARRIS-LEARK

Grad Year: 2017
Pos: pitcher/first baseman
High School: Oak Park and River Forest (Oak Park, Ill.)
GPA: 3.4
Club: Lemont Rockers (Ill.)
College: Auburn

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FullCountSoftball.com: You play basketball as well as softball… do you think the two sports complement each other? What would you say are the main similarities and differences between the two in your opinion?
Chardonnay Harris-Leark: Basketball is at a faster pace, but I use many softball skills (speed, movement, etc.). I also am always the in-bounder with a few seconds left because I can throw it the length of the court.

FCS.com: You throw a variety of pitches… tell us what you throw?
CH-L: I have two types of fastballs, a change-up, curveball, screw, riseball and drop curve—my teammates and coaches call it the “Frisbee.”

FCS.com: You have a cool nickname… recap how and why you’ve become known as “The Octopus.” 
CH-L: I’m one of the taller ones on my team and sometimes the say i snag balls only an octupus with 8 arms would get.

FCS.com: How did Auburn first find you and how long was it from time they saw you to the official offer? 
CH-L: I’ve been attending the ASU camps with Coach Myers and his staff since seventh grade.  I always saw myself playing for him and since he went to Auburn, It was a perfect fit.

FCS.com: When did you decide to commit and what led into the decision? 
CH-L: This winter.  The campus, the coaching staff, the very family oriented environment, plus the other girls are pretty cool too.

FCS.com: Where were you when you committed?
CH-L: In a golf cart!

FCS.com: What did they say they liked about and where do they see you playing… and will you hit also? 
CH-L: I will pitch and do whatever is asked as we try to bring a National Championship to Auburn.

FCS.com: Was distance a factor in your decision at all? 
CH-L: Yes, but It’ll make me appreciate everything back home more!

FCS.com: You’re only a freshman… did you check other schools and was there any hesitation in committing at this point? 
CH-L: I looked at a number of other schools including SEC schools, Pac 12, etc.  Thre was no hesitation, plus my high school colors are orange and blue!

FCS.com: What’s been a top memory or two for you in your softball career? 
CH-L: Beating the OC Batbusters 2-1 at 12U Nationals in Montgomery, Ala and pitching the entire game while getting two of our three hits and scoring both runs including the winning run after my teammate Karah hit a groundball off of first base.

 

Quick Hitters

 

Fill in the blank… When I step on the field: ________________

I run to my position.

If you were the President of the United States, what’s the first problem you’d work on solving? 
World Hunger.

Favorite Singer:
Justin Bieber.

Favorite movies:
Wedding Crashers, Mulan

Least favorite thing to do:
Pull ups.

Favorite ice cream and/or topping:
Chocolate Peanut Butter.

What’s the last time you laughed so hard you cried?
Yesterday in the car with my friends!

Are you a pet kind of girl?
No!

What’s something unusual or different about you that few know?
I’m really good at painting my nails with both hands!

How would your friends describe you in one word?
Nice.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take one thing with you, what would it be? 
My phone.

What’s the main thing you want to accomplish in 2014 in your life?
Honor Roll.

If you could change places with one person for a day, who would it be and why? 
Beyonce. She can sing, dance, she’s pretty and the money would be nice too.