Until this spring, the Sparkman (Harvest, Ala.) school record for softball home runs had stood at 34.
That number changed dramatically following a new off-season program which produced a national-record 60 home runs this spring. The record of 59 by St. Amant (St. Amant, La.) had stood since 2006.
"A good (coaching) friend of mine had set the state record of 57 the year before," coach Dale Palmer said. "Their hitters aren't as good as ours in my opinion. We needed to increase our power numbers. We hit a lot of doubles and triples. Manufacturing runs had been our thing."
Sarah Suggs
Photo by Elton Suggs
After discussions with two college coaches, Palmer tweaked batting mechanics and swings to go along with a stepped-up weight lifting program.
Everything obviously clicked, but 60 home runs?
"We were pretty surprised," Palmer said. "At 50 games we had 50 home runs and (knew we) had a shot at the state record. We didn’t say anything to the kids at all, but it was fun for the coaches. We got our 60th in the next-to-last inning of our last game."
Other records included a team batting average of .393.
Junior first baseman Sarah Suggs led the onslaught with a school-record 15 round trippers (the record had been 10). She also batted .457 and drove in 65 runs for the 58-8-1 Senators.
Senior center fielder Hayden Crawford and sophomore utility player Ashlee Price each slammed 11 homers. Crawford batted .482 and drove in 70 runs, while Price batted .396 with 44 RBI. Junior pitcher-designated player Tori Edwards had 10 homers with a .414 batting average and 69 RBI.
Palmer isn’t predicting another record next year, but there’s one thing he definitely expects: “We’ll see more off-speed pitches.”
* Dunnellon (Dunnellon, Fla.) senior pitcher/third baseman Kasey Fagan has been named Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year. The 5-11 University of Florida recruit paced the Class 4A state champions with a 26-1 record, 239 strikeouts and a 0.57 ERA. She also batted .574 and drove in 61 runs. Her GPA is 4.74.
* Robert Morris recruit Geena Badolato threw a perfect game in her final high school outing as Mt. Lebanon (Pittsburgh, Pa.) nipped Central Bucks South (Warrington, Pa.), 1-0, to win its first Class AAAA state softball title. She struck out 11 and did not allow a ball to be hit out of the infield. Junior shortstop Tess Apke slammed a first-inning homer for the game’s only run.
* Six-foot sophomore Emily Puterbaugh fired a two-hitter with 17 strikeouts as Summerfield (Petersburg, Mich.) edged previously unbeaten Onaway (Onaway, Mich.), 2-1, to win the Division 4 state title.
Georgia wins Junior Sunbelt
Team Georgia edged previously unbeaten Team Tennessee, 5-4, to win the 14th annual Junior Sunbelt Classic baseball tournament in McAlester, Okla. The field also included teams from Arizona, California, Florida, Maryland, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas.
Catcher Jerad Curry of Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.) was named MVP after batting .482 with five home runs, 12 runs, seven walks and 13 RBI in 34 plate appearances.
* All-State shortstop Thomas Verdi went 4-for-4 as Bishop Hendricken (Warwick, R.I.) came out of the losers’ bracket to beat North Providence (North Providence, R.I.), 11-7, for its third consecutive Division I state title. Verdi batted an amazing .867 while earning tourney MVP honors.
* Amherst-Pelham Regional (Amherst, Mass.) senior Kevin Ziomek struck out 17 during a 3-2 victory over Xaverian Brothers (Westwood, Mass.) as the Hurricanes won the Division 1 state championship. The 6-3 Vanderbilt recruit, who has been drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks, was throwing 94 MPH in the final inning.
* One of the few girls to play baseball in the southern California area - relief pitcher Martina Sementelli of Birmingham (Lake Balboa, Calif.) - will throw out the first pitch on July 7 when the Los Angeles Dodgers play host to the Florida Marlins.
* Ron Patnosh has retired after 45 years as baseball coach at St. Raymond Boys (Bronx, N.Y.). Patnosh, who will remain as athletic director, founded the program and won 1,080 games.
* Dave Gasser has retired as head baseball coach at Astoria (Astoria, Ore.). In 30 years he compiled a 660-192 record at four schools with five state titles.
Crouser sets national record
Recent Gresham (Gresham, Ore.) graduate Sam Crouser broke his own national javelin record with a spectacular throw of 255-4 during the Portland Rose Festival in Portland, Ore. His previous national mark of 244-2 was set earlier this spring.
Crouser, who is headed for the University of Oregon, would have won the NCAA meet by almost five feet.
* A pair of rising juniors won the prestigious Jim Ryun Dream Mile at Randall’s Island, N.Y., and ran national season-best times in the process.
Lukas Verzbicas of Sandburg (Orland Park, Ill.) captured the boys race in an outstanding time of 4:04.38. The girls title went to Maddie Meyers of Northwest (Seattle, Wash.), who was clocked in a personal-record 4:41.93.
* Joe Rosa of West Windsor-Plainsboro North (Plainsboro, N.J.) set a national junior-class record by winning the two-mile in 8:44.06 during the New Balance Nationals in Greensboro, N.C. The record of 8:44.9 by Eric Hulst (Laguna Beach, Calif.) had stood since 1975.
* St. Pius X Catholic (Atlanta, Ga.) rising senior Shelby Ashe set a national record by throwing the 4K hammer 214-04 during the USATF Georgia Junior Olympics.
* Blacksburg (Blacksburg, Va.) set a national record in the distance medley relay during the New Balance Nationals in Greensboro, N.C. The foursome of Kathleen Stevens, Sarah Dorrell, Hannah Brown and Joanna Stevens turned in a blazing 11:31.26.
Behanan named MVP
Bowling Green (Bowling Green, Ky.) rising senior forward Chane Behanan was named MVP at the annual NBA Players Top 100 Basketball Camp in Charlottesville, Va. The 6-8 standout averaged 14.7 points and had 12 points in the tourney championship game.
Perspectives Charter (Chicago, Ill.) rising senior Anthony Davis (6-9) was named Most Outstanding Prospect. The camp’s leading scorer at 15.8 points per game was 6-6 P.J. Hairston of Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham, Va.), who averaged 15.8 points.
* Promising prospects Kavon Stewart (5-10) and Reggie Cameron (6-4) will be transferring from Paterson Catholic (Paterson, N.J.), which closed its doors this spring, to Hudson Catholic (Jersey City, N.J.), according to ZAGSBLOG.
* Joseph Uchebo, a 6-9, 240-pound rising junior, has transferred from Oak Ridge Military Academy (Oak Ridge, N.C.) to Word of God Christian Academy (Raleigh, N.C.), according to the Raleigh News & Observer. He has committed to North Carolina State.
* Basil Mawbey has retired as head basketball coach at Broad Ripple (Indianapolis, Ind.). Mawbey compiled a 675-253 record in 39 years at seven schools and won a pair of state titles.
Louisville lands Schimmel
Franklin (Portland, Ore.) basketball star Shoni Schimmel has signed with the University of Louisville. The 5-9 point guard repeated as Oregon’s Class 6A Player of the Year after averaging 29.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 5.8 steals.
Ranked among the nation’s top 10 players, she set state 3-point basket records with 11 in a game and 121 in a season.
* Lake Taylor (Norfolk, Va.) rising seniors Linda Stepney and Crystal Leary have committed to the University of West Virginia, according to the Virginian Pilot. The 5-6 Stepney averaged 13.9 points, 4.7 assists and 3.3 steals as a junior and scored 17 points in the state-championship game. Leary, who is 6-2, averaged 12.9 points and 9.5 rebounds.
* Oregon’s Class 2A Player of the Year, Brittaney Niebergall, is transferring from Portland Christian (Portland, Ore.) to Class 4A La Salle (Milwaukie, Ore.). As a junior, the 5-3 point guard averaged 19.3 points, 6.7 steals and 6.1 assists while leading her team to a perfect 29-0 record.
* Former assistant Don Monson has been promoted to head basketball coach at Shorecrest (Seattle, Wash.). Monson also is a radio talk-show host on KIRO-FM and works on the Seattle Seahawks’ pre- and post-game radio shows.
Texas golfer earns PGA shot
Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas) golfer Tanner Kesterson won the prestigious FootJoy Invitational in Greensboro, N.C., with a score of 271, one stroke ahead of Anthony Paolucci (Del Mar, Calif.).
The victory gave him an exemption to play in the PGA Tour Wyndham Championship from Aug. 16-22. He currently is No. 38 in the AJGA’s Polo Golf Rankings.
* Will Pearson, a recent graduate of Evangelical Christian (Cordova, Tenn.), shot 215 and needed a one-hole playoff to win the age 15-18 division during the 38th annual Southern Junior Championship in Choudrant, La. He has signed with the University of Arkansas.
* Yueer Cindy Feng (Orlando, Fla.) carded 206 for a four-stroke victory during the Rolex Girls Junior Championship in Hilton Head, S.C. She had three birdies on a bogey-free final day to finish 7-under-par.
