National Highlight Reel: Shelby Holley raises softball national home run record to 72

It was only fitting that Shelby Holley's final high school at-bat would result in a long home run as Pisgah (Ala.) crushed Geneva (Ala.), 16-2, for its seventh Class 3A state softball championship since 1999.

It was going to be all or nothing in her swan song for the Eagles.

"I'm coming out of my shoes," she told coach Billy Duncan before she stepped to the plate. "I'm going to swing for the fence."

Duncan replied, "I wouldn't expect anything different."



The result was a 270-foot blast over the left-field fence for her national-record 35th home run this year and 72nd during her brilliant career. Though her six home runs as an eighth grader don't count for national records, they do leave her with a state-record 78.

"It looked like a beach ball," she said as she zeroed in on the last home run pitch.

She also finished her senior year with 16 doubles, 54 runs, 98 RBIs (on 92 hits), 55 walks, a .617 batting average and just two strikeouts.

Holley definitely did not rest on her laurels after setting season and career home run records the previous week. She added five more home runs to her total as the Eagles marched to the championship, finishing with a 43-13-1 record.

A strong candidate for National Softball Player of the Year, Holley has set the bar high. She hopes if her record ever is broken that it stays at Pisgah.

Eighth grade teammate Lillie McCrary, a catcher-third baseman, hit six home runs this year – the exact total that Holley collected during her first varsity campaign. McCrary is on target.



The Pisgah team also set a national record this year with 71 home runs. The previous listed record was 59 by St. Amant (La.) in 2006.

* Holly Springs (N.C.) junior Erica Nunn pitched a one-hitter with 18 strikeouts during a 5-1 victory over Wakefield (Raleigh, N.C.).

* Deer Valley (Glendale, Ariz.) senior Lauren Haeger set a Class 4A/5A state record with 21 home runs this year and tied the career record with 48 home runs. She will attend the University of Florida.

* Simi Valley (Calif.) blanked Hart (Newhall, Calif.), 4-0, as Sophia Perez recorded 15 strikeouts.

* Senior Taylor Webb fired a no-hitter with 19 strikeouts as West Babylon (N.Y.) nipped Comsewogue (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.), 1-0.

* Karysta Donisthorpe collected her fifth Class 4A state championship ring as Piedra Vista (Farmington, N.M.) defeated Farmington (N.M.), 5-0. The New Mexico State University recruit struck out 16 in the finale after hurling two no-hitters earlier in the week.



* Ashley Thompson, a 6-1 sophomore, pitched a perfect game and belted a pair of homers as Connell (Wash.) routed Mabton (Wash.), 10-0.

* Amie Carr posted her 200th career coaching victory as Fairport (N.Y.) defeated Webster Thomas (Webster, N.Y.), 11-3.

Continue reading for baseball, basketball, soccer and more{PAGEBREAK}BASEBALL: PHELPS IS PERFECT AT COMERICA PARK
The first perfect game at Comerica Park — home of the Detroit Tigers — was hurled by senior Todd Phelps as Western International (Detroit) blanked Renaissance (Detroit), 8-0. He struck out 12 with a sharp-breaking curve as Western captured the Detroit Public School League championship.

* Woodcreek (Roseville, Calif.) sophomore Stephen Nogosek struck out 16 and allowed just one hit during a 2-0 victory over Casa Roble (Orangevale, Calif.). Nogosek normally is the starting shortstop, but he was pressed into mound service due to injuries.

* JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) outlasted Great Oak (Temecula, Calif.), 1-0, in 14 innings on an RBI single by Nico Darras.

* Junior Zach Boyle pitched nine hitless innings before giving up an infield single in the final inning as Cretin-Derham Hall (St. Paul, Minn.) exploded for a 10-inning, 10-0 victory over Stillwater (Minn.).



* Luke Bigler belted three home runs as Spring Hill (Columbia, Tenn.) routed Goodpasture (Madison, Tenn.), 14-4.

* Maryville (Tenn.) upset Science Hill (Johnson City, Tenn.) and its projected first-round draft pitcher, Daniel Norris, 8-2. Norris had a 2-1 lead until the seventh when Maryville exploded for seven runs. In 6-1/3 innings, Norris struck out 10, allowed five hits (two were bunts) and walked five. The Clemson signee finished his career with a 33-3 record.

* Milestone coaching victories: Bob Mantooth of Apollo (Owensboro, Ky.) and Bill Krumpelbeck of Covington Catholic (Park Hills, Ky.), both notched No. 800; Rich Smith of Garden City (N.Y.), No. 600; Mike Canobbio of Lindenhurst (N.Y.), No. 500; and John Morris of Eastern (Louisville, Ky.), No. 300.

BASKETBALL: RAFER ALSTON HIRED IN TEXAS
Rafer Alston, who played in the NBA for 11 years, has been hired as head boys basketball coach and athletic director at Christian Life Center Academy (Houston).
 
* Colorful, controversial Shakey Rodriguez has retired as head basketball coach at Dr. Krop (Miami). Rodriguez, age 58, brought big-time basketball to Florida for many years at Miami Senior, where he won five state titles.

* Fairfax (Los Angeles) already is expecting big things from 6-6 transfer Taj Adams, who was the leading scorer as a junior last winter at West Adams (Los Angeles).
 
* Highly rated junior guard Torian Graham has made a commitment to North Carolina State University, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. The 6-4 standout, who also considered Kentucky and Rutgers, averaged 19 points for Word of God Christian Academy (Raleigh, N.C.).

* Dederick Lee has made a commitment to the University of Arkansas, according to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. The 6-1 sophomore point guard averaged 27.5 points and seven assists to spark Clarksville (26-5) to the Class 4A state title.



* On the girls side, 5-10 junior guard Lexi Sells has chosen Providence College, according to the Foxboro Sun Chronicle. Last winter she averaged 19.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists and four steals for Bishop Feehan (Attleboro, Mass.).

SOCCER: NATIONAL RECORD FOR CHRIST CHURCH
Christ Church Episcopal (Greenville, S.C.) defeated Charleston Charter Math & Science (S.C.), 7-1, to win the Class A boys soccer state championship for a national-record 11th consecutive year. The previous record was 10 by Gilford (N.H.) from 1987-1996. The champs finished the year with a 21-4 record.

* Wando (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) upset the nation's top-ranked boys soccer team, Irmo (Columbia, S.C.), 3-1, to win the Class 4A state title for the fifth time before a crowd estimated at 6,500. Sophomore forward Hamilton Carlin set the pace by scoring two goals in the first seven minutes. Irmo finished with a 24-1 record, while Wando finished 26-4.

* Santiago (Corona, Calif.) sophomore star Amber Munerlyn has chosen Stanford over North Carolina, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise. She had more than 75 scholarship offers and starred on the USA Under-16 team that won the Nordic Cup last summer in Denmark.

POTPOURRI
* Jesuit (Carmichael, Calif.) defeated Xavier (New York City), 50-27, to win the national rugby championship in Sandy, Utah. It marked Jesuit's third national title in four years.

* Palo Alto (Calif.) junior Jasmine Tosky set a national record by swimming the 100-yard butterfly in 51.92 seconds during the CIF Central Coast Section preliminaries. The record of 52.41 had stood since 1996.