Published: May 22, 2008 01:05 pm            

Lady Owls prepared for region finals

JOSHUA — If you hope to have success at any level of softball, a strong battery is as essential as oxygen.

With the duo of Kayci Wilson and Heather Dennie on the mound and Caitlin Force behind the plate, the Joshua Lady Owls have defeated four playoff foes and are one game away from a trip to the University Interscholastic League softball championships at McCombs Field in Austin.

“I’m really glad we got this far,” Wilson said. “Hopefully we’ll go further.”

But standing in the way is the No. 1-ranked team in Texas, the Aledo Ladycats, and ace pitcher Whitney Canion.

“She has a good rise ball and speed is definitely her advantage,” Dennie said. “She has different levels, she can throw 65, but if you make her angry she can go 70 mph. She’s a good pitcher but she’s not unhittable, [Ashley Clifton] hit her out. You have to wait for that pitch and time it right and you can get it.”

While Canion may receive more hype than Wilson and Dennie, the two junior pitchers have an arsenal of pitches that demand respect from opposing offenses.

“Kayci is, I think, a bit faster,” Force said. “Kayci has never missed her spots. When I’m behind the plate and she’s on the mound I have 100 percent confidence. I know she is going to just dominate.

“Heather also throws hard. I don’t want to say she has more movement, but batters have a harder time figuring her out because she’s moving the ball around so much.”

Dennie, who pitched a complete game six-hitter in Joshua’s 8-1 regional semifinal clincher against Pampa, says that she and Wilson’s style of pitching differ, even if there is no clear-cut ace.

“Kayci has a really good drop ball and I rely more on my rise ball,” Dennie said. “She throws more of the low pitches. Speed-wise I think we’re kind of close. I throw a variety of pitches, but my rise ball is my dominant pitch and she throws more drop balls and changeups.”

“It feels really good to have two good pitchers, because if one isn’t doing what she can do, you have another who’s just as good that can come in and do the same,” Wilson said.

A large part of Wilson and Dennie’s success can be attributed to Force, who stepped into the starting catcher position vacated by the graduation of Sabrina Davison.

This season is Force’s first behind the plate after she suffered a torn ACL her freshman year and spent her sophomore year playing in the outfield.

“She’s done really well being her first year,” Wilson said. “She did a lot better than I expected. She has a great arm and works really hard.”

Putting a player with a major knee operation in their recent past at the most stressful position for the knees was not an easy decision, but head coach Traci Brooks and assistant coach Max Haskins felt like Force was up to the challenge.

“We were concerned last year when we talked about it, but she was cleared by her doctor to do it and doctors know more than we do,” Brooks said. “Anytime she feels discomfort or anything we’ll rest her.”

The move has paid off for the Lady Owls, as Force has worked diligently to become an asset behind the plate.

“[Force] has done very well for us back there,” Brooks said. “She works hard. She’s saved a lot of passed balls, she’s a good target for our pitchers, they aren’t afraid to throw any of their pitches and she keeps getting better.”

While the two coaches call the pitches from the dugout, Force does occasionally provide input on how to handle opposing batters during a game.

“If I can see that a batter can’t hit a ball, at the end of an inning I’ll say ‘This girl is kind of struggling with this’ or ‘I don’t think you should pitch this’ and she’ll say ‘OK’ and look at the options,” Force said.

“They’re the ones looking at where the batter is set up,” Brooks said. “I’ve got a side view and I’m going based on what I pitched them the other inning and whether or not it worked.”

Going into today’s Region I championship game, Joshua has yet to beat the Ladycats in three chances this season, but there is no pessimism in the players’ voices when asked about their chances to go to Austin.

“When we look at the scores of other teams versus Aledo we have the best scores,” Force said about the Lady Owls previous games against Aledo, which were decided by margins of 4-1, 2-0 and 1-0. “Throughout the season our play got better. We tightened down the score, which shows both teams are improving. It’s going to be a great game.”

The Lady Owls believe that they have less pressure on them because of Aledo’s lack of success in the region finals in recent memory (a 2007 three-game defeat at the hands of Denton Ryan and a 2006 one-game loss to Cleburne) and an advantage with the format of the series.

“I feel like it’s an advantage for us because they have that pressure to make it past this round, just like we had in the second round,” Dennie said. “Two years in a row we got knocked out, the same thing for them. Every game [against Aledo] we’ve gotten better and gotten closer each time and I think this is going to be the game where we take them.”

“We as a team decided we wanted to do one game, because they are a good team,” Force said. “We don’t believe that we could come back and beat them two times. Our best chance is one game.”

Joshua fans also anticipate a classic duel between these two district rivals.

“Everybody is really pumped because soccer didn’t make playoffs, [girls’] basketball did really good, but nobody has come this close,” Dennie said. “I know a lot of people are wearing face paint and chest paint. All of the teachers are telling people to support [us]. They said at the banquet last night to come out to the game. Everybody has been really supportive.”

“So many kids at school have been asking ‘Where’s the game?’ ‘What time is it at?’ ‘Who are you playing?’” Force said. “The whole school is excited, and of course the softball team is thrilled.”

        

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