Line off to great start

By Wes Holtsclaw (wholtsclaw@starhq.com)

The fastest driver in Pro Stock is off to a great start in 2008.

Jason Line, driver of KB Racing’s Summit Racing Equipment Pontiac GXP, currently leads a tight points race in the Pro Stock division where four drivers are separated by 22 points.

Line has reached the final round four times with one victory this season.

“It’s definitely the best season I’ve had personally to this date,” Line said Wednesday. “Team-wise, it’s been okay. We haven’t ran as good as we would’ve liked to. But I guess there’s a lot of reasons for that.

“We’re working on it and hopefully we’re going to do things a little differently than last year. Last year, we came on really strong and got worse as the season went on. This year, we want to peak at the end especially with the new points format.”

After claiming the POWERade Series world title in 2006 under the old format, Line finished last year’s inaugural Countdown to the Championship with a top five finish.

Line said the new format has changed his team’s mentality somewhat, but the main goal, obviously, is to win races.

“The goal is to go out and win every race,” Line said. “Obviously it’s a pretty tough task. But it’s a goal. Really the format has changed the way we approach the season a little bit.

“The goal is to get better each week no matter what happens and, whether you win or not, we can gauge enough about the performance of the car itself. It still comes down to winning every week. At the same time, we feel like our performance needs to get better.”

After serving three years and nine months in the United States Air Force from 1987-1991, Line began racing in NHRA’s Stock Eliminator division in 1992.

He won the Stock Eliminator world title in 1993 and had success through the mid-nineties before joining Joe Gibbs’ NASCAR team in 1998 as the Chief Dynamometer Engine Specialist, also serving as the at-track engine tuner for Bobby Labonte during his 2000 Winston Cup championship season.

After that, he rejoined drag racing at KB Racing as Greg Anderson’s Chief Dynamometer Engine Specialist and Tuner for his three consecutive NHRA titles from 2003-2005 while also driving his own Pro Stock ride.

In 2004, Line earned Rookie of the Year honors and ended teammate Anderson’s streak of titles in 2006 with the POWERade Series Pro Stock title.

Last year, Line established the national record for speed in the division at 211.69 mph.

This year, the Minnesota-native achieved a new feat becoming one of four drivers in NHRA history to qualify in each of his first 100 attempts.

“I wasn’t aware of it actually. They came up to me, and at the time they thought I was the first person in Pro Stock to do that,” Line said. “They later figured out that Bruce Allen had done it also. Either way, I’m not a big stat keeper but it certainly a neat accomplishment and it says a lot about the quality people we have here behind the drivers. It takes everybody to do it.”

Line hopes to maintain his points lead this weekend at Bristol Dragway, where he’s reached the finals twice since 2004 including a win in 2006.

“It’s one of our favorite tracks to go to,” he added. “We really look forward to it.”

Fuller focused on another shot at title

By Rick Sheek (rsheek@starhq.com)

The inaugural Countdown to the Championship format likely cost Rod Fuller his first NHRA Top Fuel championship, but instead of being bitter the David Powers Motorsports driver is focused on regaining another shot.

“It was really hard to swallow,” Fuller said by phone earlier this week. “They changed the format last year, and now they’ve changed it again this year. But that’s part of it.

“It’s good for racing, so that’s what helps the sport grow. I feel we’re going to be around awhile.”

Fuller led the points at the close of the regular season and was on top of the championship race heading in the final round at Pomona. He was defeated by Tony Schumacher, the reigning and five-time POWERade Drag Racing Series champion.

“We’re in striking distance of third,” Fuller, currently fourth in the standings, said. “Also, about the Countdown deal last year

– I don’t think it’s an advantage to be No. 1 going into the Countdown. Last year we had a 160-point lead, and watched it all go away.”My goal is to be No. 2 going in the Countdown.”

The eighth stop of the 24-event schedule hits Bristol Dragway this weekend for the eighth-annual O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals. In his three races on the quarter-mile strip, Fuller has reached the semifinals on three occasions

– including the final round twice.”When you do that well at a race track, you’ve got a lot of confidence,” Fuller, 37, said. “We seem to do really well at Bruton Smith’s tracks.”

The Countdown To One will include the top 10 drives shooting it out in the final six events. Schumacher leads Antron Brown, Fuller’s teammate, 608-540 atop the points.

“I think either me or my teammate can catch Schumacher,” Fuller said. “I had a better car last year than Schumacher top to bottom. I just lost the last race in the shootout.

“That gives us a lot of confidence. Look at the last four rounds. My teammate’s won two and I’ve won one. That’s pretty dang powerful, so there’s no doubt in my mind me or Antron can win it this year. But Schumacher comes in real powerful, with (teammate) CoryMac over there.”

Fuller won the tour’s last event, at St. Louis, earlier this month. That was his fourth trip to the winner’s circle since joining the Top Fuel class in 2005.

He was a 13-time winner in the sportsmen ranks previously. So it was no surprise to him that Brown such a tremendous splash in Top Fuel after a winning career in Pro Stock Motorcycle.

“When I came in the sport it was a bigger move with what I did,” Fuller, who pilots the Caterpillar dragster, said. “I was just Super Gas and Super Comp, and I went right there to Top Fuel. I think the biggest change to Top Fuel is no so much the driving but the pressure from the media and sponsors.”

Fuller believes it should be no secret why NHRA drag racing is such a drawing card.

“In our sport, it’s like a hidden jewel,” Fuller said. “They (spectators) go and they love it. One thing about our sport, the sanctioning body does a good job

“People see it is exciting. It’s great. We’re so diverse. We’ve got it all. I’ve noticed the influx of the cultures, and think it helps the sport grow.”

Fuller stresses the storied Thunder Valley holds a mystique like no other on the circuit.

“It’s got such a rich history,” Fuller, who holds a master’s degree from the University of Arkansas, said. “And not just the oval, but the dragstrip, too. The people down there go to the facility and tell it’s one of the best facilities on the tour.

“How it’s carved into a mountain, I think about that place and it gives me goose bumps. It’s cool. I’m excited about going to it. Anytime you hear it’s a Bruton Smith race facility, you know it’s a top-notch facility, too.”

Schumacher in charge of Top Fuel division

By Wes Holtsclaw (wholtsclaw@starhq.com)

They call him ‘Sarge’ for a reason.

For the last four seasons, Tony Schumacher has been in charge of the NHRA POWERade Series Top Fuel division.

And given his start to the 2008 season, the U.S. Army dragster doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

After winning his NHRA record fourth consecutive Top Fuel title, Schumacher picked up where he left off with two consecutive wins to start the current year.

He’s made two additional final round appearances and has maintained the points lead since the opening weekend at Pomona, California — his best start since his 2004 championship season when he won a Top Fuel record 10 races.

After seven races in 2004, Schumacher had totaled 613 points and four wins. This year, he’s picked up 608 points on two wins.

“It’s been a great start,” Schumacher, a five-time series champion, said Monday. “I think we’ve only had one year that we’ve had a better start and we won ten races that year. So it’s been fantastic. The cars and the crew have really gelled. We haven’t made the mistakes and really haven’t spent the beginning of the year like we usually do, we’re trying to win some races.”

Despite walking away with their fourth consecutive title, the U.S. Army team didn’t slow down in preparation for the 2008 season. A lot of work in the offseason went into the great start.

Schumacher gave credit to crew chief Allen Johnson and his team for getting everything ready off the bat.

“Everything was perfect and they gave us what we needed to go out and start winning,” he said. “We didn’t have to figure combinations out. Allen Johnson was really good in getting that car to react right away to a new chassis and new fuel. It was perfect. Just really good timing for a successful year.”

Of course, the driver had a little momentum on his side as well winning the first Top Fuel title in the Countdown to the Championship format.

“It was awesome. It feels good. On the last run of the season, bottom of the ninth, full count and to put one out like that. You can’t ask for anything else. That’s what dreams are made from.”

Since his debut in 1996, Schumacher has taken control of the Top Fuel division. This year, he’s gunning for his fifth straight NHRA POWERade world title and a Top Fuel record sixth career title.

With 43 career wins, Schumacher sits nine away from Joe Amato’s record of 52 Top Fuel victories.

This weekend at Bristol, Schumacher could make more personal history needing just three elimination round wins to reach number 400 for his career in that category.

Schumacher would like nothing more than to reach the tally in front of some of the NHRA’s best fans at Thunder Valley.

“I love to drive there. Thunder Valley, it’s something cool,” Schumacher said. “The fans live and die for racing. That’s what I like to show up for. I’m not wasting my time. I’m going out there and performing in front of people who want to be performed in front of. I think that’s cool.”

Schumacher’s fans will get a real treat this weekend with the U.S. Army ’s special Salute the Troops paint scheme in advance of Memorial Day.

Mark Martin will run a similar paint scheme for NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte.

“It will be a special moment when we honor the brave men and women of the U.S. Army as part of the Salute the Troops program and over the Bristol NHRA race weekend,” Schumacher said. “With Memorial Day forthcoming, we should all make sure to pause and think about the people who sacrificed so much to protect our freedom. I can only hope that our U.S. Army Top Fuel team can deliver a victory in Thunder Valley and then Mark Martin can do likewise in the number 8 U.S. Army Chevrolet at the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte. That would be a great present for our Soldiers.”

Aside from his normal drag racing duties at Bristol, Schumacher will also get an opportunity to tangle with his competitors on the Bristol Motor Speedway half-mile.

Bristol will host its second Saturday Spectacular event following Saturday’s NHRA O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals next door.

The card includes five races including the UARA Late Motel Series Thompson Metal 150.

But the highlight of the show will undoubtedly be the NHRA Circle Track Challenge when Schumacher and others will race street stock cars for one segment, then turn the wheel over to a partner for a second segment.

Schumacher may have a slight edge over his fellow drag racing comrades. The driver has previous experience testing a late modified outside of Sacramento along with laps in the Richard Petty Driving Experience.

“I can’t wait. I don’t know how close these cars are to those, but that was good experience — probably exactly what I needed (going into this),” said Schumacher. “You get to go out there and beat up on the other drivers. And it’s really a unique situation because where we’re not allowed to touch each other, we can go out there and rough them up a little bit. It’s kind of cool.”

 

Bernstein looks to get on track at Bristol

By Wes Holtsclaw (wholtsclaw@starhq.com)

BRISTOL — Even Brandon Bernstein will admit it. His Budweiser Lucas Oil team has struggled this season.

“Our team has struggled a little bit,” the second generation driver said last week at the Troutdale Dining Room. “We haven’t gotten a win yet. We got to the finals in Gainesville. As of late, the last couple of races, we’ve gone out early in the first round. The consistency of the race car is not really there yet. We’ve been struggling with that but it seems like (crew chief) Tim Richards is going to get a handle on that soon.”

He’s hoping to break that spell of bad luck this weekend.

Bernstein returns to Bristol Dragway as the defending Top Fuel champion of the O’Reilly Thunder Valley Nationals.

If there’s any place Bernstein can get back on the right track, it’s Bristol.

Bernstein has two wins at Thunder Valley (2003, 2007) and has twice qualified in the number one post.

“Bristol is a track where we’ve had pretty good success,” Bernstein said “The fact that we’ve performed well here in the past helps build confidence going into this year’s event. We know we are capable of winning.”

Last year before reaching Bristol, Bernstein had won two events. This year, he’s reached the final round just one time.

After the win at Thunder Valley a year ago, Bernstein finished the season with a career high five wins in seven final round appearances. He also finished third in the inaugural Countdown to the Championship, tying his previous best finish in the NHRA POWERade Top Fuel points standings.

“I guess the main thing I remember is that pedalfest we did a couple of times,” Bernstein recalled of last year’s win. “I think I had two smoke the tires runs there. When you win those kind of round and you go on and win the race, it’s something really kind of special. It was a good weekend. It was a great weekend for us and hopefully we can duplicate that.”

The biggest key to this weekend for the Budweiser Lucas Oil team is getting a handle on the little things.

“I think right now, the nitro methane percentage — we’re able to run 90 percent now, but we haven’t gone to that yet. We’re still at 85 percent,” he said. “We see cars that have gone to it are running a lot quicker numbers. We’re going to have to make that move. Tim’s trying to make that move in motion. Also the weight, the fifteen pounds, on these racecars have thrown us a little bit of a loop. The car reacts differently. He just hasn’t gotten a real handle on it yet.”

Of course, Bernstein hopes his team can get a handle on things in advance of this year’s Countdown.

A slight change in the format, increasing the opening number of participants to ten cars, surely will work out in Bernstein’s advantage.

“Once you get into that playoff format, since we have six races instead of two races to have a championship, it gives you a little bit of a playing field in case you do have a mistake in one race,” Bernstein said. “We saw that last year in funny car. The guys all went out in the first round in Vegas and Tony goes onto win the race and pretty much locks it up. This way, in case you have a hiccup, nobody’s locked it up.

“To be honest, I hated the way the last format was with two races and four cars going at it. I think the top ten cars should be able to race, not the top eight. I think it’s a lot better for us as far as racers go and everything. You’re still going to see great racing down the stretch. Six races and ten cars going at it. It’s going to come down to Pomona again. It’s going to come down to the last race or the last two races to decide the championship.”

First, though, to make a serious run Bernstein’s team is going to need some momentum.

Judging by the upcoming NHRA schedule, there’s not a better place for the team than Bristol.

Force already among racing’s elite

 By Rick Sheek (rsheek@starhq.com)

Forget her gender, the blood line is there and she’s proven she’s among the elite of her sport.

Ashley Force, daughter of 14-time NHRA champion John Force, prevailed last month at Atlanta. She became the first woman in Funny Car history to reach the winner’s circle.

“It’s been a long road,” Force, 25, said in a teleconference recently. “We had so many ups and downs, and struggles with the car. Having a new team and driver, and everything else brand new, but we were able to build on that.

“The same group of guys joined me this year, and it was exciting to step up

– go the next level, be going rounds and going to finals. We knew if we kept getting to finals, we’d eventually get a win. We had to be patient, and keep doing what we were doing.”Force and the Castrol GTX/Auto Club Ford Mustang team hit the O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals this weekend at Bristol Dragway. It’s the eighth stop on the 24-event, $50 million POWERade Drag Racing Series.

“Our car is very consistent, and that’s the key in drag racing,” Force said. “If you can have consistency, it’s going to pay off. We’re just trying to stay focused, and not get caught up in everything.

“You don’t want to be looking at the points every round, seeing where you’re at. It changes so quickly, that we’re really trying not to get into that. It would only distract us from what our main goal is, and that’s to win rounds. We just want to stay ahead of the rest of the guys and gals.”

In that Atlanta final round, Force was matched up with her famous father. He lost traction just off the launching pad and was forced to abort.

“I’m just proud of her as a woman to accomplish that,” said the elder Force, drag racing’s all-time leader with 125 national event victories. “I think that now this is just another place in history that can say women are showing their stuff. They beat this old man pretty good.

“It’s good for her. As a father, I’m proud of her. She didn’t do anything stupid on the starting line, go deep, or try to holeshot me. She just did what she always does, and that was most important.”

That was her third straight final round, and she led the points race until the last stop at St. Louis. That was also a first in Funny Car for a woman, and she currently trails leader Tim Wilkerson 497-473.

Force points out her father doesn’t pressure her on how to perform her job, even though he is the team owner.

“He didn’t want to change our routine,” Force said. “We have our own way of doing things in our camp. He taught me when I started, and now he’s kind of letting my find my own way

– learn from my mistakes.”But the biggest thing that he talked to me about in the past month was just to stay focused, and not let the mental side of things get into our minds.”

A year ago Force finished 10th in the points, missing two events for team reasons. She reaped rookie-of-the-year honors.

Force won in her 27th start, and fourth career final round.

“I’m just excited to be in NHRA drag racing,” Force said. “It’s such a fun sport. There’s so many great things that if offers.

“And it’s neat to now be part of that history, and I hope to make more memories in it”

Former women’s champions in drag racing include Shirley Muldowney in Top Fuel and Angelle Sampey in Pro Stock Motorcycle. Earlier in April, Danica Patrick became the first woman in IndyCar history to take a checkered flag.

“It’s very frustrating for those in drag racing,” Force said. “We’ve had such a history of females doing great in drag racing. But you don’t want to take anything away from Danica she did a great job.”

Brown makes transition to Top Fuel with ease

By Rick Sheek (rsheek@starhq.com)

Talk about no problem with the transition. Antron Brown made the move from Pro Stock Motorcycle to Top Fuel without skipping a beat.

Brown reached the winner’s circle in just his fourth start this year, at Houston. He was top qualifier at the season opener at Pomona.

“I’m beyond words,” Brown said recently by phone. “For sure it’s been a dream so far already. First off, getting a Top Fuel ride was something I wanted to do.

“I didn’t know if I would do it until it happened, but I’ve had a lot of people believe in me. They gave me a shot to shine, and the team hasn’t let them down. We’re getting there. We’ve been real successful. I’m loving it.”

Heading into this weekend’s eighth-annual O’Reilly NHRA Thunder Valley Nationals at Bristol Dragway, Brown trails reigning and five-time champion Tony Schumacher 608-540 in the point standings.

Schumacher wrapped up the title last year the final pass of the year, edging Brown’s teammate Rod Fuller.

“The U.S. Army team is a phenomenal team,” Brown said. “they’ve won the last four championships in a row, so that tells you how strong they are. (Crew chief) Allen Johnson, the whole crew and Tony as the driver

– those guys have performed when the pressure’s on.”He’s only 68 points ahead of us. One good race for us and one bad race for them and we could go around them.”

Brown was a 16-time winner in Pro Stock Bike, where his best championship finish was second on two occasions in eight seasons on the circuit. Brown insists he wasn’t burned out racing motorcycles, he just leapt at the opportunity to drive the dragster for David Powers Motorsports and climb in the seat with the Matco Tools team and veteran crew chief Lee Beard.

“The bike deal was a lot of fun,” Brown, 32, said. “I was brought up as a kid going to races at Englishtown watching Top Fuel and Funny Car. I looked at this as a dream job, but I didn’t know if it would come.”

The New Jersey native and Indiana resident advanced to three-straight final rounds with Houston, Las Vegas and Atlanta — recording two victories.

“We’ve just got to be ready to rock those last six races,” Brown said, “and put on the performance of a lifetime.”

This weekend is the eighth stop on the 24-event, $50 million POWERade Drag Racing Series tour. Brown hasn’t raced at Thunder Valley since 1999, the inaugural year of the Winston Showdown all-star event and the return here of NHRA.

“I know it’s a phenomenal race track,” Brown said. “Bristol is a phenomenal facility. They put on a great show for the fans.

“I look forward to coming back to Bristol. It’s definitely a big race. It’s almost the halfway point before the Countdown starts. We’ll be able to hit our final leg at Bristol before the Countdown.”

The Countdown to the Championship is the six-event playoff which decides the world champion.

“We’re going out there to win the race,” Brown said. “It would be great. We want to go out there and do well.”

Breaking News: Snavely resigns at Unaka, Minton taking over boys team

Elizabethton Star Sports Editor Wes Holtsclaw is reporting that Unaka High School boy’s basketball coach Ronnie Snavely has announced his retirment from coaching with a letter of resignation submitted this morning to the Carter County Board of Education.

Staff sports writer Tim Chambers is also reporting that assistant Jon Minton has accepted the vacant head coaching position.

More on this story may be found in Friday’s Elizabethton Star.

U.S. National Team delivers 24-0 win over Milligan

By Ben Davis (bdavis@starhq.com)

JOHNSON CITY — Over 3,000 people — 3,476 to be exact — in Johnson City saw firsthand why the current Team USA softball squad is considered one of the greatest teams ever fielded in the sport.

The crowd, which was the second largest of Team USA’s current ‘Bound 4 Beijing Tour’, witnessed Alicia Hollowell throw five innings of no-hit softball and the Olympians offense pound out three homers and 21 hits in a 24-0 win over Milligan College on a cold and wet Sunday afternoon at Cardinal Park.

“One of the big perks of this tour is reaching out in the grass roots,” noted Team USA coach Mike Candrea, whose team will be shooting for it’s fourth straight Gold Medal in China this August. “A place I’ve never been before and many of the team members haven’t been before, but (it was) a great event. It’s always nice to see a good crowd and it was fun.”

Hollowell was amazing from the get-go in helping Team USA improve to 22-1 on the tour. The former University of Arizona standout struckout ten batters and the only hitter she allowed to reach base was Science Hill graduate Ellyn Sapp, who walked in the fifth.

“I just tried to stay warm and keeping the ball dry is one of the main things, but I’ve played in bad weather before,” said Hollowell, who is now 4-0 on the tour and has yet to yield a run in 23.0 innings of work. “It was nice to get some innings and get out here and play. The weather wasn’t the greatest, but it’s always fun to be on the field. It was also fun seeing all the fans that turned out down here and bared the weather with us.”

Team USA’s hitting was nearly as impressive as Hollowell’s pitching.

Kelly Kretschman, Crysl Bustos and Jenny Topping each went deep in the contest while eight of the team’s members had two or more hits.

Kretschman’s homer was a two-run shot in the bottom of the first that helped the Olympians build a 4-0 lead. Topping’s was a three-run bomb came during an eleven-run fifth and final inning.

But the biggest blast of all came off of Bustos’s bat in the second inning when she launched a grand slam over the temporary centerfield fence.

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t notice there were people on,” Bustos said. “I just wanted to hit the ball hard, that’s all. Today, I was just looking at getting a good piece of the ball. During batting practice, I was taking more line drives trying to keep it down.”

The home run was the eleventh of the tour for Bustos, which is best on the squad.

“It wasn’t one of the better ones,” she said. “I kind of was off my front foot there, and a little unbalanced, but I got a piece of it.”

Kretschman, Topping and Caitlin Lowe each had three hits for Team USA while Natasha Watley, Andrea Duran, Lauren Leppin, Laura Berg and Jennie Finch each belted out two hits.

Kretschman had five RBI while Bustos had four and Topping three.

Finch, one of the most well-known female athletes in the world, played first base just three days after pitching a no-hitter against UNC-Greensboro.

“It’s a matter of ‘are those girls going (Team USA) to make a mistake?’, which they don’t,” said Milligan coach Wes Holly. “That was very evident. They are the best in the world. They are going to put the ball into play. If you notice on the scoreboard, most of the time they get runs per hit, and that was equivalent in that game.”

Gutsy freshman pitcher Sidney Burns took the loss for the Lady Buffs after throwing the first three innings. It was the seventh game in as many days Burns has started.

“It was great,” Burns said of the whole experience. “It was fun. We felt pampered. I know it was great because we learned so much about the game today. It just was unrealistic almost. It didn’t hit me until I was out there.”

Ryann Musick took over the duties in the circle to start the fourth and pitched the final 1.2 innings before the game was called.

“It was great for our kids and everything,” said Holly. “Overall, I am very, very proud of them.”
Coach Holly was also thrilled with the way so many fans attended despite the weather. He was also very pleased with the way the event as a whole turned out.

“It just shows what our region can do to support the Olympic tour and everything,” he said. “It’s just a tremendous opportunity for this region to get to see our Olympic team, because only 42 cities in the United States are going to get to do that. I am very proud of the fact that we got them in and got the event. The weather wasn’t too cooperative, but we just thank everyone for coming out in this kind of weather.”

Softball will continue to rise despite Olympic absence in 2012

By Wes Holtsclaw (wholtsclaw@starhq.com)

JOHNSON CITY — Softball is alive and well in East Tennessee.

If you were one of the 3,476 that attended the Olympic exhibition between the United States National Women’s team and Milligan College, you have no doubts about that statement.

Sunday’s game at Cardinal Park was a testament to the growth of softball in the previous 20 years.

Who would’ve imagined 20 years ago that a softball game would deliver the biggest crowd in the minor league baseball park’s history?

The fact that Milligan College became the first NAIA school to play Team USA in 2008 tells you how deep and competitive the sport has become in this country on a collegiate basis.

From Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to the Santa Monica Pier in California, softball has risen as a top sport for male and female athletes across the United States.

It has also become a top sport internationally — particularly, the women’s fast-pitch version of the game.

Unfortunately, there are some who don’t feel that way. In particular, the International Olympic Committee.

In the summer of 2005, members of the IOC voted to eliminate softball and baseball from the 2012 Olympic games — two sports that worked very hard for many years to be included in the 1990’s.

Softball representatives worked to get the sport included for over 30 years before its debut in the 1996 Olympics. The idea of the sport’s removal has many of those same representatives already fighting to bring it back in 2016, as they should.

Since joining the Olympics, softball has increased exposure to women’s sports throughout the globe and provided some of the event’s biggest stars on an international basis, including Team USA’s Jenny Finch, Cat Osterman, Laura Berg and Lisa Fernandez, among others.

“I’ve been blessed to see the sport from the infant stages when we couldn’t get television and didn’t have facilities to play in,” said Team USA coach Mike Candrea, who has won eight NCAA titles as head coach at Arizona. “I’d always felt that softball was a great sport and if we could intrigue universities to build facilities that we could get people to fill the stands.

“We’ve done that and the sport’s grown tremendously I think foremost because of the ‘96 games in Atlanta. I think that gave it a boost in the arm and it’s continued to grow through the College World Series over the year and, obviously, the Olympic team. Many of these kids here have become the icons of the sport and have become really good ambassadors. They’ve done a good job reaching down to the grassroots and making kids excited about playing softball.”

When the announcement was made three years ago, Finch and others took the news hard. But they didn’t quit. They kept playing to make a statement.

“This is our game, our sport, our lives. This is what we do,” Finch said Sunday. “For us it was a blow. When you come so far, and it’s been exciting to see how far our sport has grown and where we’ve been, for that to happen is a shock. We’re not going to let that deter our sport. We’re going to keep fighting and pushing through.”

Television ratings for softball are much higher than over half of the sports at the games. Not only that, but the game has drastically grown internationally since 1996.

The number of nations playing softball now stands at over 130, ranking softball 14th on the list of the Olympics’ 28 sports.

And just because the United States has won gold in the event the previous three Olympics doesn’t mean that there isn’t stiff competition throughout the globe.

China, Australia and Japan are three countries that have grown into the sport and could provide the team that eventually could unseat the Americans.

“I’m sure (they’re as disappointed), if not even more so,” Finch said. “You have a talented college game here and our sport is huge here, but when you go to Japan and China, it’s their one chance for a medal and even more so heartbreaking for them.”

Come August in Beijing, Finch and company will be out to make the statement that softball belongs in 2012 or any other year.

“It’s a huge blow to the sport in general, but we’re not going to let that effect us,” Finch said. “We’re going to use these Beijing games to showcase our sport and prove we belong in the Olympics.”

As they should.

“I think you have great athletes here that love to compete,” said Candrea. “What motivates them is to play the game and play it at a high level. We really feel like we don’t have any control over what’s going to happen in the future. All we can do is go out there and do our job and let the politics take care of themselves.”

After the games, and hopefully a fourth consecutive gold medal, the United States coach said international softball supporters have to take the fight to Europe.

“After the Olympic games in August, possibly many of us will be called upon to do some stuff and maybe help get the sport the boost that we need,” Candrea added. “The trouble is the boost that we need is to get in front of the voters in Europe. I’m not so sure we can do anything unless we take our game and take Japan, Australia and China, and go to Europe and sit there and tour for a year and show them what the game is really like.

I.O.C. President Dr. Jacques Rogge and others may not believe in the sport, but their opposition towards softball’s reinstatement in 2012, 2016 or any other year won’t destroy the sport.

Coaches such as Candrea and players like Finch won’t let that happen. Neither will collegiate coaches like Wes Holly, high school coaches such as Ronnie Hicks or longtime players like Jarfly Dugger or Bud Whitehead on a local level.

Little girls will continue to grow into the game. Men will keep playing their version of slow and fast-pitch. Team USA will stay strong and keep fighting.

“We’ve grown accustomed to being an Olympic sport,” Candrea continued. “That’s the ultimate in our sport and I don’t think we’re going to give it up without a fight. I think we’re prepared for it.”

If anything, Sunday’s exhibition gave Team USA 3,476 reasons to do just that.

 

 

National squad delivering expected results

U.S. National Team pitcher Jennie FInch (photo contributed by USA Softball)

By Wes Holtsclaw (wholtsclaw@starhq.com)

KNOXVILLE — With the exception of a shocking 1-0 upset loss to Virginia Tech, the United States Women’s National softball team has delivered expected results on their Bound 4 Beijing Tour this spring.

Today, the team many have called ‘the greatest softball team ever assembled,’ faces the smallest school on their national schedule when they meet NAIA’s Milligan College at Johnson City’s Cardinal Park Team USA comes to Johnson City with a 21-1 record following Saturday’s 4-2victory against the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Today’s game marks second stop of the Tennessee leg of their current tour against collegiate and all-star teams in preparation of this summer’s summer Olympics in Beijing.

“I always tell people the tour is foremost for us to help us prepare and get down the road in August,” said Team USA coach Mike Candrea. “I think it’s as important to reach down to the grassroots and continue to grow the sport. I think these young ladies are great ambassadors for our sport and we need to continue to keep growing the sport.

“College softball is very, very healthy. There’s a lot of opportunity out there. And for the first time, a lot of these girls can look up to and have a role model that’s a softball player. I think that’s another part of the tour for us.”

One quarter of the tour will be completed today following the team’s stop in Johnson City.

While the tour gives members of the national softball team an opportunity to better hone their skills, it gives the team a chance to visit parts of the country they’ve never seen.

“First of all getting to see the country, we represent the USA. You can’t really feel better about going across internationally until you go across all the states and travel all the miles and the people we meet, see and get to sign autographs and talk to afterwards,” said Team USA’s leading hitter and former Stanford standout Jessica Mendoza.

“When we go to Beijing it’s going to feel like we’ve had a little part of Tennessee, a little part of Alabama, there’s a little bit of Connecticut and Washington. It’s a great empowering feeling knowing you’ve got USA across your chest.”

Perhaps the biggest honor is playing for the future of softball with many youth teams and young girls in the audience at each stop.

“It means the world,” Mendoza said. “It wasn’t very long ago I was one of those girls. I remember in 2000 I was waiting in line and getting autographs of that Olympic team. I had those balls and I was so excited.

“I can relate. I know what that feels like. To be honest you never know when you’ll meet that next future star in the crowd. And I think more than anything, to have that role model, you can go on and play in college and just really follow your dreams.”

Team USA took a ten-day break following its loss to Virginia Tech in the Oklahoma City College Preview to regroup.

Since then the team has delivered wins of 21-0 over New Mexico State, 10-3 against Houston and 13-0 at UNC Greensboro, where leading pitcher Jennie Finch struck out 18 batters with a no-hit performance.

Saturday’s win in Knoxville sets the tone for today’s outing in Johnson City.

“We’ve kinda been ramping up,” said former University of Arizona standout outfielder Caitlin Lowe, who’s one of the team’s leading run producers batting leadoff this spring. “We hit a little block with Virginia Tech. We’re trying to come back off of that and make sure we’re scoring runs every inning, which basically is a key to this team. We kind of have to compete against ourselves every time we come out here.” The team’s pitchers are arguably the best in the softball world.

Led by the ever-popular Finch, former Texas standout Cat Osterman and former Tennessee record breaker Monica Abbott, Team USA has made it hard for opposing teams to score runs.

Also on the squad are pitching legend Lisa Fernandez and Alicia Hollowell, who led Arizona to the 2006 NCAA title and will make the start on the mound against Milligan today.

Offensively, including Saturday’s game, the American team has outscored opponents 222-9 on their current tour against the nation’s best collegiate programs.

“I don’t think there’s any better preparation,” Lowe said. “I think Division I is been the best its been, well-rounded, in years. I think that this is the best we can do to get ready. Hopefully we can get ready for Beijing.”

The team has been paced by outfielder Mendoza and third baseman Andrea Duran. Duran currently leads the team with 33 RBI on the season, while Mendoza holds a team-high 37 hits and 30 runs scored while hitting .429 on the year.

Finch (4-1) leads the pitching staff with 36 innings pitched and 77 total strikeouts.

Mendoza has 11 multi-hit games on the tour, while Lowe has 10. The 2004 Gold Medal winning squad’s leading power hitter Crystal Bustos has 11 multiple RBI games, followed by 10 from Duran.

The team’s lineup is deep also featuring additional former Olympic veterans including Laura Berg, a three-time Olympic champion, Tairia Flowers, Vicky Galindo, Lovienne Jung, Kelly Kretschman, Stacey Nuveman, Jenny Topping and Natasha Watley.

As hard as it may seem, the team still hasn’t peaked.

Coach Mike Candrea, an eight-time National Championship winning coach who is regarded by many as the world’s best softball skipper, said Saturday that he hopes the team gets to the point where they realize what it took to win gold medals in 1996, 2000 and 2004.

“I think everything is established when you get the games and get into the arena and compete,” Candrea said. “We have a team with many kids that have been there before and we have some new faces. But the bottom line is you have to go out and perform.I thought in 2004 we had a very dominant performance and I don’t think it could’ve been any better.

“There are two things that happen. Sometimes kids sit back on what they’ve done in the past and think they’re going to turn on a light bulb and it’s going to happen when they realize how tough it was. I think this group needs to get to that point.

“The tour is tough because you’re home Monday through Thursday and you play Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” he continued. “We’re here and we’re on the road the whole time sleeping in strange beds and it’s very difficult to get the practice time we need. So it’s a challenge. But that’s part of the process.

“I believe in this team and I think this team is a good team, but right now we’re kind of playing the game. We’re not playing the game with the emotion we need to when it comes to Olympic time.”

 

Note: Fans attending Sunday’s game at Cardinal Park are advised to arrive at the facility early to avoid parking rush.

Those who do make the early voyage will get a treat.

As Finch, Osterman and Abbott are not starting and may not see action Sunday, the trio and the remainder of the squad will still participate in workouts beginning at noon.

At noon, the team will take batting practice. Saturday, Team USA powerhitter Crystal Bustos smacked some balls out of Lee Stadium at Knoxville — once striking a train 100 feet beyond the 220-foot wall.

Those sitting in the outfield Sunday will get a chance to field practice home run balls should they arrive early.

At 1 p.m., the team will stretch and begin warmups. Of course, the game will begin at 2 p.m.