Today, certainly a sad day in our nation’s history as we remember those who lost their lives Sept. 11, 2001, we also celebrate softball and those that play.  We profile a team in Florida that actually had its origins in Ohio, hear more about a Calif. commit, hear from one of the top uncommitted 2015’s and promote a great cause out of Colorado that you’ll definitely want to read about!

 

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TEAM PROFILE: CENTRAL FLORIDA STINGRAYS

*** Look at the Central Florida Stingrays roster and one thing becomes immediately clear:  the team has separate practices more than they do all together.

Talk about your split squad—the Stingrays have half of the team living in Ohio and the other half in Florida with a player from Montana and one from Virginia sprinkled in over the summer.

The Montana girl, Makenzie Shellnutt, spend the summer living in Florida with her mom and two younger brothers and drove in a van from Montana to Orlando and all across the East when the Stingrays played in New Jersey, Ohio and Georgia.  She also squeezed in some unofficial visits and visited family in North Carolina!

The reason this split squad works is because of Head Coach Mark Tamanini who explains, “I was heavily involved with the Ohio Stingrays before moving to Florida.  I actually started and ran the Stingrays Invitational Showcase played at Ohio State so I was born and raised in Ohio and can’t get Ohio or softball out of my blood!”

The Stingrays organization started in Columbus, Ohio in 1984 and the Central Florida version was created in 2005 when Tamanini moved to Orlando.

Another quick glance of the team roster shows the squad has both youth and experience.

“We only had two seniors last summer,” Coach Tamanini continues, “and both are from Florida and both went to Ohio Dominican Univ. in Columbus after having offers in Florida.”

With such a young team, Tamanini adds all of the 2014’s will decide this fall.

Not surprisingly, this fall the half Buckeye/half Sunshine State team will play in events in Ohio (Ohio PGF Bash and Stingrays Invitational) and Florida (Diamond9, ASA Qualifier and Rising Stars) as well as New Jersey (Team New Jersey) in the coming months.

Here’s the fall team with comments from Coach Tamanini:

— CF/C Deanna Stirtzinger (2014)—Palm Bay, Fla.
“Deanna is an incredible student, we call her the Energizer Bunny because she’s constantly in motion and will outwork anybody on the field.  She’s an all-district catcher in high school but plays lock-down centerfield for us.”

— 2B/3B Emily Blackmore (2014)—St. Cloud, Fla.
“Emily is one of our two players who I’ve been with since the Stingrays started in Florida.  An all-district player in high school, she’s a clutch hitter who has extremely low strikeouts and always puts the ball in play. She’s not flashy and all you recognize after the game is she made all the plays and hit the ball hard every time up.”

— OF/MIF Kristin Staley (2014)— Bradenton, Fla.
“Kristin’s our speed kid, our lefty slapper who moved to Florida from Ohio two years ago.  She was all-conference out of Tampa and has a sky-high on-base percentage.  If she gets it down she’s safe.”

— C/3B Bailey Ankrim (2015)— Powell, Ohio
“Bailey is a new player for us, she hits the ball very hard and has extremely good POP times and knows the game very well with a high softball IQ.”

— C/3B Abi Spitulski (2018)—Orlando, Fla.
“We call her ’12 year old’ as she’s very young, but played in the PGF Nationals last year for Jersey Intensity.  At her age, there aren’t many in this area with her skill level.  She hits the ball hard and will be a standout catcher down the road.  Her father is a very successful hitting coach in this area and she can flat out rip the ball.”

— SS/IF Taylor Stimson (2014)—Hudson, Ohio
“This kid, if you have in your mind what a thoroughbred softball looks like, it’s her.  She’s tall and lean and has gap power and plays in the outfield for her high school team because of her arm, but in college they like her in the infield so that’s where we’ll use her in the fall and summer.”

— P/OF Taylor Rahach (2015)—Hudson, Ohio
“Taylor is an all-state pitcher in Ohio, she actually played in the 16U PGF Nationals with the Ohio Ice.  She has command of a lot of spin pitches and throws the ball very, very hard and has a devastating curve ball.”

— C/IF Savannah Young (2014, Holy Cross)—Celebration, Fla.
“Savannah was the first kid I came in contact with in Florida as a 10U player.  She’s a Stingray through and through.  A Div. I catcher, she has always called her own game and makes every pitcher better.  She hits the ball incredibly hard and is the heart and soul of our team.”

— OF/MIF Ashley Sharpe (2014)—Centerville, Ohio
“Ashley is with us for the first year, she’s another lockdown outfielder and put her there and know we won’t have a problem.  She has very, very good speed, hits the ball for average, runs well on the bases and we will also have her play infield but her natural position is in the outfield.”

— C/3B Abigale Groseclose (2014)—Hilliard, Ohio
“Abi is a kid who already has a 31 on her ACT but continues to take it in hopes of raising her score.  She hits the ball very well and impressed all the coaches all summer long with her work behind the plate.  It’s now up to her to choose where she wants to go.”

— 1B/3B Makenzie Shellnutt (2014)—Billings, Mont.
“Makenzie is one of the better players in the state of Montana, a natural lefty hitter who throws right, she’s a firstbaseman who hits the ball hard and is the type you just want to have on your team.  Our kids fell in love with her.”

— P/SS Jazmin Faulk (2016)—Columbus, Ohio
“This is a young kid who is playing at a city school in Columbus and is by far the dominant force in the city league.  She’s a pitcher for us, she spins it well and is a workhorse.  She’s young and already has 240-250 foot power.  Jazmin can just mash, she’s opened up a lot of eyes.”

— P/1B Parker Conrad (2016)—Winter Park, Fla.
“Another new kid for us who’s young, she’s played with some younger teams but is six-foot tall and is probably our hardest thrower.  Will probably play first base for us, she’s always been a pitcher and is getting better every day.  She throws really hard.”

— 3B/SS Courtney Ross (2017)—Orlando, Fla.
“Until last summer she was a committed AAU volleyball player and made a choice to get back into softball.  She’s young, has tons of potential and will be a star player at her high school and on our team as we move forward. Her athletic ability is obvious.”

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VERBAL NEWS:

*** Got a nice e-mail from John Babbitt who responded to my note asking to confirm 2015 1B/OF Mackenzie Babbitt of the All American Sports Academy (Calif.) had committed to Cal St. Northridge.

Here’s what the asst. coach and father wrote:

“Mackenzie did commit to Northridge in January. She had been on their ‘radar’ since she attended the OnDeck camps starting in 7th grade. Northridge Asst. Coach Cindy Ball had been following her closely for many years and after she had attended a couple of camps on their campus, Mackenzie felt very comfortable with their entire staff.

Mackenzie is a three sport athlete (softball, volleyball, basketball) at Hughson (Calif.) High School. Hughson HS is a three-time defending softball section champion in the Sac Joaquin Section.

In High School, Mackenzie plays first base and leads off. For AASA (All American Sports Academy) she plays CF and leads off.

She was All-District (Modesto Bee) and All-League (Trans Valley League) in her freshman and sophomore years.

Thoughout the recruitment process, she was being noticed by many Division 1 colleges but was made most comfortable by Northridge.

Off the field, she maintains a GPA of 3.8 and is in the Stanislaus County Honor Band. She takes Advanced Placement courses at Hughson HS to prepare her for college, and is a very dedicated student.

As parents, we are pleased that we will be able to follow Mackenzie’s softball career very closely, since we live about four hours away from campus (kind of like travel ball)!”

–John Babbitt

 

RECRUIT PROFILE:

*** Yesterday we mentioned in our Daily Update that Gia Rodoni was one of the standouts at the OnDeck NorCal Jamboree… here’s a closer look at the player Derek Allister calls “one of the top uncommitted pitchers in the class.”

Club: California Grapettes
High School: Central Catholic (Modesto, Calif.)
Pos: P/1B
Grad Year: 2015
Camps: OnDeck NorCal Jamboree (2012, ’13), Univ. of Oregon, Univ. of Washington, Stanford Camp

What’s your recruiting status, are you close to deciding or wide open?
I currently have several offers I am considering and am trusting in The Lord to guide me down the path He has laid out for me.  I am excited to see where His path leads me.

How long have you been playing softball? Do you play other sports?
I’ve been playing softball since the age of seven when my dad first handed me a ball.  I’ve tried every sport: basketball, soccer, tennis, golf, volleyball and swimming, but softball was my love and passion.

Describe your experience at the NorCal Jamboree?
This was my third invitation and second time attending the NorCal Jamboree.  Each time has been better than the last.  Mr. and Mrs. Allister continue to provide an amazing event for the benefit of players and coaches.

What are your strengths on the softball field?  And what do you think you need to work on?
I believe that my mound presence is one of my greatest strengths.  I’ve had college coaches tell me that I don’t get rattled and they can’t tell whether I am winning or losing.  I could work on showing some emotion when my teammates make a great play.

What events did you play in this summer?
All American Showcase
Surf City Invitational Showcase
Colorado Independence Day Showcase
DeMarini Invitational Showcase
SoCal A’s Invitational 2
PGF Nationals

What’s been the top one or two softball experiences in your career so far?
I’ve had a couple big experiences that I’ve been able to share with my teammates.  We beat Team Mizuno-Stith in Colorado and they went on to win that tournament.  Another would be when we faced the reigning National Champion SoCal A’s and held them to one run in a 1-0 loss.

 

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“OUR HOMEPLATE” PROJECT: A GREAT CAUSE!

*** I received an e-mail from a college coach forwarded this e-mail from Coach Louie Berndt at Monmouth and thought it would be worth sharing and I whole-heartedly agree.

First, I had to get involved because the community is Eads, Colo.  I didn’t even know there was a town with my last name (this is Brentt Eads writing here)!

But most importantly, this is what MAKES SOFTBALL SO GREAT: an athlete goes back to her community to help young girls raise money for a project to help them play softball.  So much good around this and it’s easy to help out.  Read Coach Berndt’s e-mail to the end and see if you are in a position to help.

 

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I wanted to share with you a story about one of my seniors from last year’s team, Jordan Barnett.

Jordan started a project called “Our Homeplate.” This project was created out of a need for better playing facilities for young athletes in her small community of Eads, Colo.

She started the project the summer before her senior year at Monmouth. She held three fundraisers, sent out 150 donation request letters, developed the budget, construction plans and financial accounting procedures for the project.

Through the summer, fall and winter she continued to contact people, work the Facebook page and make plans for the spring (2013) construction of the new field.

Work began in March and the field was finished in June then followed an opening ceremony for the field. After that both softball players and youth baseball teams played on the field all summer long.

Jordan raised $60,000 for the project by donations and she also received a $10,000 grant from the Cooper Clark Foundation.

It’s been a great asset for her small community. She volunteered this summer to coach a 10-12 year old softball team and took them to the Regional Tournament in Missouri where they finished 3^rd.

She has brought the sport of softball into the limelight in the area to the point where parents are pushing to get Softball as a Varsity sport in the High School. The dugouts on the field are very nice and large, (so much so) that the high school Baseball coach was upset that the “youth field” was in better shape than the high school field (and now) the community is now making improvements to the high school baseball field.

Through Jordan’s hard work she has opened the doors to so many younger athletes and her project has made a huge difference in her small community.

The reason I share this story with you is because we all teach our student-athletes to give back.

I would like to help Jordan continue her project by asking each of you if you could donate an old sign or banner (Easton, Louisville, Under Armour, DeMarini, Adidas, Nike, Worth, Wilson, etc.) whatever you have, so that Jordan can “dress up” the fence around the field.

I know we all get new signs every year, so before you throw them out, if you can save them and send them to:

Jordan Barnett
PO Box 216
Eads, CO  81036

You can also learn more by going to the Facebook page: “Our Homeplate Project”

I know she would appreciate anything as her project this fall and winter is to raise funds for equipment, money for bleachers, bullpens and landscaping.

Thanks so VERY MUCH for Sharing!

 

Louie Berndt
Head Softball Coach
Monmouth University

 

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SOFTBALL & THE OLYMPICS (Part II)

Yesterday, we had two articles we thought were well done about the Olympic disappointment of softball not being included… came across two more that are interesting reads:

How Olympic Politics Hurt Female Athletes (by Sean Gregory of Time Sports)

Another Strikeout for Softball (by Donna de Varona/ESPNW)

 

 

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If you’d like to submit information, forward to brentt@studentsports.com.  Also, follow us on twitter at @SS_Softball.