WNCC's Ventoza headed to University of Washington to play softball

Jessica Ventoza always had a dream of playing softball for the University of Washington.

And, after signing with another college to play another sport, Ventoza’s original dream came true after making an impression for Washington head coach Heather Tarr during a summer workout and earned a spot on the Husky softball team.

“Since the eighth grade when I stepped on that field [Washington’s] to play a summer league game I realized that I would love to play here,” Ventoza said. “And also when Coach Tarr was named head coach and was the only Pac-10 school to give me the time of day, I realized that she was the type of coach that I wanted to play for. She was and is (a coach) that cares about everyone interested in her program and she has done a lot for me, both with giving me encouragement and advice, and now (by giving me a chance to play collegiate) softball.”

WNCC coach Maria Winn-Ratliff said Ventoza should fit in well at Washington.

“I think that JV is a very special person and deserves the opportunity to compete at that level. I am very proud of her and wish her all the best of luck on her new journey,” Winn-Ratliff said. “She is the type of kid that gives it her all and I believe will see time on the field as it presents itself. She came to WNCC as a right-handed hitter/shortstop and we converted her to a left-handed slapper/hitter and a third-baseman. I think that is going to provide more of an opportunity for her at UW. She can also play OF so she is very versatile and can give them many looks. Having a player go into the Pac-10 for softball is a great accomplishment being that it is the number 1 conference for college softball.”

But, the road to Washington wasn’t an easy ride. Ventoza gave up on her dream of playing for the Huskies and decided to play her second-favorite sport, soccer, at St. Martin’s College.

“Two years ago when I was at Highline Community College she sent a scout out to watch me and then during the summer when I was playing for the Kent Rebels she came out to a tournament to watch,” Ventoza said. “We then continued talking throughout the summer and the beginning of last fall but I had kind of lost the desire to play. After our fall season was over at WNCC she told me that she wanted me to walk on. In all reality I thought she just was saying that and wasn't serious about it.”

So, during the early part of the spring softball season at WNCC, Ventoza decided to play soccer at Saint Martin’s College.

But Ventoza couldn’t get rid of her itch to play softball at Washington. She began having second thoughts after watching the Huskies play in the College World Series.

Ventoza sent Tarr an e-mail congratulating her and her team on a good season. Soon, Tarr called and asked her to try out for the team. In her two days of tryouts, Ventoza was very impressive, ripping home runs left and right, and playing strong defense at third. It was then that she decided to accept the walk-on opportunity to play at Washington.

“After a few weeks of emailing and talking with WNCC Coach Maria Winn, Coach Tarr, and Coach Walker, the Saint Martin's soccer coach, I realized that this was my opportunity and my dream was finally going to come true,” she said. “I was really excited to play soccer at Saint Martin’s, but when the Washington business was going about I realized that this was my one shot to live out my dreams and to become a great softball player. And Coach Walker along with some of my teammates totally understood.”

Ventoza realized though, that she has to work to see playing time, and she understands that.

“I have to prove to her that not only I can play but I can play with her girls and will be an asset to her program. And I think she has seen some of that over the years,” she said. “This is a walk-on situation but I will receive the same treatment and luxuries as the other players. I have the same opportunity to earn a position and am treated just like the others. Plus, I am not the only walk-on or the only transfer so that will be good as well.”

The season that Ventoza had for WNCC won’t hurt her chances of playing either. Ventoza helped the Cougar softball team to one of their best seasons ever at 36-21. She also became one of the top all-around players in school history finishing with a school record 34 steals, a .464 batting average and an .887 fielding average. She also had four home runs, 11 doubles, 70 runs scored and 32 RBIs last season for the Cougars.

At the Region IX tournament, Ventoza stepped up her game to a higher level. The 5-foot-6 infielder led the team with a .652 batting average while hitting three home runs and scoring 11 runs in six games in helping the Cougars to a runner-up finish. Ventoza was also named to the Region IX all-tournament team, as well as being a first team All-region selection. She was even named an academic all-American.

“I was pleased with my season at WNCC and I felt that I played well and worked hard for coach and her program. I had great coaching by Coach Winn and Coach Molly Bonuchi and without their help I may not be in this position today,” she said. “Transferring to WNCC made me a better player. I had better players around me, better coaching and through that, I was able to improve.

“It was also helpful having a very competitive coach that hates losing as much as I do. It also allowed me to grow as a person. Coach Winn taught me many valuable lessons that made me stronger both physically and mentally. And without the support and encouragement from the girls, Coach Molly, Ed Ratliff, Coach Winn, my family, dorm family, friends and my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ I would not be standing in this position today. I am grateful for everything that everyone has done for me and for this opportunity that Coach Tarr has given me.”

Now, it is up to Ventoza to keep excelling at Washington, which she realizes will be tough, but at the same time she is pumped playing for a team that went to the College World Series. She hopes that she can bask in the glory of a national title in the coming years for the Huskies.

“I hate to lose and Coach Winn can tell you that. When I was being recruited by a couple other D1 schools, smaller ones, I asked if there was a shot of making it to the WCWS and they were unsure and some even said no,” she said. “Winning it all and becoming national champs is why I am here and there is some pressure to keep the tradition going. I know the returning girls have more determination to get back there because they know what it's like and there is nothing more that I would like to do while at Washington than to win that Championship for the girls and for Coach Tarr, they are very deserving.”

So far she is busy working on her softball skills. Ventoza said that she and a couple of other girls on the team have gotten together a few times to play a little. She even has practiced with her former traveling summer team the Kent Rebels, and has been doing polymeric exercises to get ready for the season. She said she has learned a lot from everyone she has come in contact with. Still that doesn’t guarantee playing time.

“As for becoming a stronger, better player, with the kind of talent that I will be playing with and against there is no saying how much better I can become,” she said. “But there is always room for improvement and I am excited to become the player that Coach Tarr wants me to be and to improve my game.”

Winn-Ratliff said that Ventoza is the type of player every coach wants on their team.

“Jessica is a tremendous athlete with an unlimited amount of potential. She is a team player and gave 100 percent everyday,” she said. “She made tremendous improvements while at WNCC and wish that I would have had to opportunity to coach her for 2 years.”

Now, Ventoza will get to fulfill her dream after one year at WNCC and never giving up her childhood dream.

“Not very many people think that their dreams will come true but my mother always told me to never give up and to always believe, and through those words I am living my dream!,” she said. “I hope that this is encouragement to other girls out there that want to play for their hometown school, because if you work hard enough, believe, and don't let anyone tell you that you’re not good enough you can live out your dreams, too!”

WNCC's Winn named Region IX coach of the year

When WNCC softball coach Maria Winn-Ratliff became the head coach of the Cougar softball team three seasons ago, she had a dream of bringing the softball program to a new level.

Well, she definitely has accomplished that after this year’s team finished second at the Region IX tournament for a second straight year. More importantly, though, Winn-Ratliff has guided the team to a record-setting 36 win season.

For her efforts of making the Cougar softball team feared in the Region IX, the third-year coach was named Region IX coach of the year at last weekend's Region IX tournament by her fellow regional coaches. It is an honor that Winn-Ratliff really doesn’t want to bring up because it is the players that do the winning.

But, her players are thankful for her leadership on and off the field.

“Coach Winn is very deserving of this award. She pushes us when we need to be pushed,” Lauren Bourdon said in speaking for the rest of her team members. “It is a great honor and it was no surprise. She pus so much time and dedication on the field, in the classroom and in our lives here and is this award is what describes her: outstanding coach of the year.”

In three seasons at WNCC, Winn-Ratliff has a 86-76 record. She has improved the team’s winning each year. In 2005, her first year as a head coach, the team finished with a 23-30 mark. Two seasons ago, the team set a school record for wins (27-25-1) and also for home runs.

This year, both records fell again. This year’s Cougar team, comprised of just two sophomores – Jessica Ventoza and Ashley Eichelberger – broke both of last season’s records, going 36-21 with 41 home runs. The Cougars hammered 19 home runs at the 2-day regional tournament.

What makes Winn-Ratliff special to her players is her dedication to her players, whether on or off the field.

“Coach Winn is very deserving because she treats as like we are her own kids,” Jessie McNabb said. “She looks out for us when we are with her and when we are not with her. She puts in countless hours to make us the best players we can be.”

In fact, the team has succeeded in the classroom as well. For the past three years, the softball team as earned the award as the team with the highest grade point average. The team also has had 11 Region IX academic all-region players – five in 2005 and six in 2006. This year’s list has not been released as of yet, but seven players earned spots on either the college’s President’s or Dean’s list during the first semester.

Because of all that success, Jessica Ventoza, who transferred to WNCC this season, said this program wouldn’t be where it is today without Winn-Ratliff running the show.

“Coach has done a great job building this program and helping us on and off the field,” Ventoza said. “She not only is a great coach, but a great person as well. She is very deserving of this award.”

WNCC nearly doubles regular season home run total wiht 19 dingers at regional tournament

The Western Nebraska Community College softball team showed some finesse from the plate at the Region IX tournament over the weekend.

The Cougars entered the tournament with 22 home runs and just in a two-day period, the team nearly doubled that mark, collecting 19 round-trippers in the six games at regionals, which they placed second.

WNCC coach Maria Winn-Ratliff, who was named the region’s coach of the year, was amazed at the team’s power.

“Offensively up until the last game, we did a tremendous job and made great adjustments,” she said. “We did a great job putting up runs. We had a lead in the Lamar game and then had to come from behind to win in dramatic fashion. We found a way to win against North Platte. We found a way to guy it out and score 17 runs. The second go-around with Otero and putting up 11 runs is a big moral victory for us. We just ran out of gas in the championship. Mentally and physically we just couldn’t get over the hump after playing four games in one day.”

WNCC’s power in the tournament not was only from their 19 home runs, but also the 15 doubles they collected. In fact, eight of the nine batters recorded at least one home run

Freshman Lauren Bourdon was the big hitter, doubling her season home run total from four to eight. Bourdon had two huge dingers in the team’s 11-7 win over Otero Junior College in the first championship game.

Bourdon had a second-inning 3-run blast to start the scoring for both teams. She then added a solo shot in the seventh inning to add an insurance run to force an if-ncessary game.

Bourdon also had home runs in the first game against Otero Junior College, which WNCC lost 8-7, and a home run in the team’s 13-5 win over McCook Community College in the team’s opener.

Sophomores Ashley Eichelberger and Jessica Ventoza also provided some punch as each dinged three home runs. Eichelberger had home runs against North Platte, a 2-run blast in the win against Lamar Community College to win the game, and a 2-run shot in the win against Otero.

Ventoza’s three home runs were all 2-run shots against Lamar, in the Otero win, and in the first Otero loss. Ventoza also added three doubles to her totals while hitting 15-of-23 for the game, including a 4-for-4 day in the 8-7 loss to Otero.

Amanda Hensley, Jessie McNabb, Amanda Torimaru and Lauren Mills each collected two home runs, while Kara Ryman had one. Winn-Ratliff said that Ryman and Eichelberger each could have had another one – both in the 8-7 loss to Otero. Ryman’s, the coach said, would have been a first-inning grand slam, while Eichelberger’s was a deep flyout to lead off the seventh.

While the reality of the season is closed, Winn-Ratliff was extremely excited in watching her team play never give up in the games.

“The kids were extremely gutsy and, really, it was anybodies opportunity to win it,” she said. “You saw McCook pick up a win, which his great for their program, North Platte upsets the three seed and goes all the way to finish third. The championship game couldn’t be more then what the fans asked for. I wish we had a little bit better showing in the if game, but it is by far the most exciting regional tournament I participated.”

The Cougars performance this season shows a lot for next year. Not only did the team post the most wins in school history with 36, they also set a number of other hitting records. And, with 11 players eligible to come back next year, WNCC should be one of the favorites to win the regional title.

“We are going to have the best returning class and we are going to return the most experience in the league,” she said. “That is something that is going to be great for us next year and something for us to build on.”

The team also put seven players on the all-region team as well having the Region IX coach of the year.

Earning first team honors were infielders Jessica Ventoza, Jessie McNabb and Kara Ryman, outfielder Lauren Mills, and pitcher Natasha Dypchey. Second team honors went to Ashley Eichelberger and Amanda Hensley. Winn-Ratliff was also voted as the coach of the year. But, she said that it was her players that stepped up when needed, and the future looks bright for Cougar softball.

“We playing 57 ball games, 49 with 11 kids, and had seven kids on the all-region team – three of which are first-team infield. That says a lot about us,” Winn-Ratliff said. “I think we had one of the best infields in the league and obviously other coaches thought that as well.

Winning 36 games was huge. Our goal was 40 and we fell a little short of that. Still, I couldn’t be more prouder of this bunch of the way the kids played hurt and injured. We were all on the same goal of wanting to play at Plant City, Fla., [the site of the national tournament] and we were closer then we ever been. I hope we continue to have success, get more kids on the all-region team and pick up more wins in the future and see where it gets us.”

WNCC 130 201 0 – 7 9 1
Otero 000 260 x – 8 7 1
LP – Jessica Pexton; HR – Ventoza, Hensley, Bourdon.

North Platte 303 404 2 – 16 19 5
WNCC 002 703 5 – 17 18 2
WP – Dypchey; 2B – Mills, Foster 2; HR – Hensley, McNabb, Eichelberger, Mills, Ryman.

WNCC 030 133 1 – 11 15 1
Otero 003 040 0 – 7 12 0
WP – Pexton; 2B – Ventoza; HR – Ventoza, Eichelberger, Torimaru, Bourdon 2.

WNCC (36-21) 000 01 – 1 4 4
Otero 612 4 – 13 12 2
LP – Dypchey.

WNCC softball team finishes second at regional tournament, seven players earn all-region

The Western Nebraska Community College softball team’s spectacular run at the Region IX softball tournament just came up short after going 2-2 on the final day. The Cougars forced an if-necessary game against the host team Otero Junior College, defeating the Rattlers 11-7 in the first championship game.

But, Otero was too strong in the final game, taking the title 13-1 over WNCC. For the tournament, though, WNCC show-cased themselves well. The team hit 19 home runs in the two-day tournament, and saw seven players earn all-region honors -- five on the first team.

It was also the second straight year that WNCC has finished second in the region. They also finished the season with a school-record 36 wins. And, they did it with a freshman-dominated team with just two sophomores on this year’s team – Ashley Eichelberger and Jessica Ventoza.

WNCC earned that berth in the championship game with two exciting wins. After falling into the loser’s bracket by a heart-wrenching loss to Otero 8-7, WNCC came back and defeated North Platte Community College 17-16 and then Otero 11-7 to set up a second championship.

In that second title contest, Otero jumped out to a 7-0 lead after three innings and never looked back.

In earlier action, WNCC held a 6-2 lead over Otero in the morning game only to watch the Rattler’s score six runs to take the game 8-7. WNCC did have a change late, but Ashley Eichelberger’s long ball was caught a the fence before the outfielder tumbled over the fence.

That set up a contest with North Platte. The Knights grabbed a 10-2 lead after three innings. WNCC responded with seven runs in the fourth on three home runs, and went on to win 17-16. Natasha Dypchey picked up the win to send the Cougars into the championship needing to defeat the Rattlers twice.

They accomplished that first goal registering the 11-7 win as Pexton picked up the win and Dypchey getting the save. Both teams were tied at 3-3 after three innings, before the Cougars regained the lead 4-3 on a Amanda Torimaru solo home run.

The Cougars pushed the lead to 7-4 in the fifth inning on home runs by Eichelberger and Lauren Mills, before adding four more runs in the sixth inning for the 11-7 win and forcing the if necessary game.

Earning first team all-region honors for the 36-21 Cougars were infielders Jessica Ventoza, Jessie McNabb and Kara Ryman; pitcher Natasha Dypchey; and outfielder Lauren Mills. Ashley Eichelberger and Amanda Hensley each earned second team all-region honors.

Saturday’s Region IX Tournament Scores
Lamar 15, Dawson 3
Otero 8, WNCC 7
North Platte 10, Lamar 2
WNCC 17, North Platte 16
WNCC 11, Otero 7
Otero 13, WNCC 1

WNCC softball team wins two at regionals, Eichelberger hits walk-off home run in win over Lamar; teams hits five homers for the day

LA JUNTA, Colo. — The Western Nebraska Community College softball team belted five home runs in the first day of the Region IX tournament in La Junta, Colo. But, it was sophomore Ashley Eichelberger’s seventh-inning, 2-run walk-off home run that proved the biggest in powering the Cougars to a thrilling 9-8 comeback win over Lamar Community College.

The Cougars, 34-19, opened the tourney defeating McCook Community College 13-5 behind home runs by Amanda Torimaru, Lauren Bourdon, and Jessie McNabb. Jessica Ventoza chipped in a home run in the second game as well.

The two wins Friday puts the Cougars into a 10 a.m. winner’s bracket contest against Otero Junior College today. Otero was a 9-1 winner over North Platte Community College.

WNCC coach Maria Winn-Ratliff was impressed with the team’s long ball hitting. “Five home runs is nice, obviously, but we would take a bunch of doubles as well,” she said. “Some big things happened in the games and some kids stepped up. We hope they can carry it over to our games [today].”

The way the team came back against Lamar was huge. The team led 5-2 heading into the seventh inning only to see the Runnin’ Lopes notch two 3-run home runs to grab an 8-5 lead. WNCC came back with two home runs of its own in the
bottom of the frame.

Bourdon led off by drawing a walk. Then, with one out, Ventoza rocketed a shot over the centerfield fence to cut the deficit to 8-7. Three batters later and with two outs, Eichelberger delivered the killer hit, sky-rocketing a shot over the left-field fence for the game winner.

“I thought we hit real well. We started out the Lamar game, jumping out on top and then fizzled out a little bit,” Winn-Ratliff said. “We then showed up to play and swung the bats in the seventh inning.”

Jessica Pexton picked up the win pitching the final two-thirds inning in relief of Natasha Dypchey. Pexton got the final two Lamar batters on a sacrifice and a strikeout. Dypchey went 6 1/3 with three strikeouts and three walks to get the no-decision.

WNCC had five players record multiple hits. Ventoza, Hensley and Ryman each went 2-for-3, while McNabb and Eichelberger went 2-for-4. Ventoza finished the game with three runs scored, two RBIs and a home run, while Hensley went two runs scored, an RBI and a double. Ryman had two RBIs and two singles, followed by McNabb with two runs scored, two RBIs and a double, and Eichelberger with two RBIs, a run scored and a home run.

WNCC’s strong hitting in the Lamar contest was a carryover from the tourney opener against McCook, where they pounded out 17 hits, including eight extra base dingers. In that contest, McCook grabbed a 3-0 lead on a home run, only to see the Cougars come back with eight runs in the third inning.

Torimaru started things with a towering 3-run home run followed by a Bourdon solo shot. The Cougars capped off the scoring on a Ventoza run-scoring double. WNCC added four more runs in the fifth inning on a McNabb 3-run home run and a Torimaru run-scoring double,

Pexton picked up the win, scattering seven hits, while striking out six and walking four.

Six Cougars finished with multiple hit games. Ventoza and Torimaru finished with 3-for-4 efforts. Ventoza had two runs scored and a double, while Torimaru had four RBIs, two doubles and a home run.

Also collecting two hits were Hensley, Eichelberger, McNabb and Bourdon. Hensley had two runs scored and three RBIs, Eichelberger had a double and runs scored, McNabb finished with two runs scored, three RBIs and a home run, and Bourdon had two runs scored, an RBI, a double and home run.

Other scores in the regional tournament included North Platte Community College downing Dawson Community College 5-2, Lamar defeating Trinidad State Junior College 11-1, and McCook eliminating Trinidad State 10-7. North Platte eliminated and McCook 18-1.

First Game
McCook 003 020 — 5 7
WNCC 008 041 — 13 17
WP — Pexton, 2B — Torimaru 2, Ventoza, Bourdon, Eichelberger; HR — Torimaru, Bourdon, McNabb.

Second Game
Lamar 000 011 6 — 8 6 1
WNCC (34-19) 203 000 4 — 9 10 2
WP — Pexton; 2B — McNabb,Ventoza, Hensley; HR — Ventoza, Eichelberger.

Softball team falls to Iowa Central in regular season finale, next up is regional tournament

The Western Nebraska Community College softball team finished the Iowa Western Community College tournament with a 2-2 mark after falling to Iowa Central Community College 9-7 on Sunday. The team won two of three on Saturday defeating Iowa Western 2-0 and Southeastern Iowa 3-0 before losing 8-2 to Iowa Lakes.

In Sunday's game, the Cougars led the Division II nationally-ranked team 7-0 after one inning before falling 9-7. The team gave up a grand slam late in the fourth inning to help Iowa Central tie the game.

WNCC, 32-20, will now head to the Region IX tournament in La Junta, Colo., this weekend. The team's first game will be Friday at 10 a.m. against McCook Community College. The second game will be against the winner of the Lamar and Trinidad State game later that day.

The Region IX tournament bracket can be viewed at the Region IX softball webpage at regionix.wncc.net and then by clicking softball.

WNCC softball team wins two at Iowa tourney

Contributed by Alex Helmbrecht, Star-Herald Sports Writer

Jessica Pexton pitched the Western Nebraska Community College softball team to two wins Saturday at the Iowa Western Community College Softball Tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Pexton, who's now 12-7 on the season, helped the Cougars defeat Southeastern Community College 3-0 and Iowa Western 2-0.

WNCC also played Iowa Lakes Community College but the Cougars lost 8-2.
Against Southeastern, Jessica McNabb sparked the Cougars from the plate with a triple and an RBI. Kara Ryman and Lauren Mills both added doubles. As a team, the Cougars finished with seven hits.

Against Iowa Western, McNabb led the Cougars again offensively as she finished 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI. Jessica Ventoza added another triple and an RBI. Ventoza and McNabb provided the Cougars' only hits in the 2-0 victory.

Against Iowa Lakes, Natasha Dypchey took the loss. She's now 20-9 on the season.
Ashley Eichelberger finished the game 2-for-4, including a double and a run scored.

WNCC (32-18) continues the tourney today against Iowa Central and Morningside's junior varsity.

WNCC softball position-by-position

Optimism is running high in the minds of this year’s Western Nebraska Community College softball players and coaches. WNCC’s fans and opponents will get a glimpse of that optimism when they open the season Friday at the Odessa, Texas, Tournament Friday and Saturday.

WNCC coach Maria Winn said these girls are ready to get the season going. “They are eager to get on the bus Wednesday morning at 8 a.m.,” she said. “They have been talking about going to Texas for the last week. They have their bags packed and ready to go.”

Winn can’t wait to see how this team meshes as a unit after a successful fall campaign, in which they went 15-8-1. “This group is fun and energetic, and the recruits coming in brag about how good of kids they are,” Winn said. “We have really worked hard to go out and find good kids that are athletic. I didn’t know that in my athletic career that I would take good athletic kids, good people and sacrifice some other things that might be out there because I couldn’t ask for a better group of kids.”

This year’s team features just 12 players with just one returning player, Ashley Eichelberger from Orangevale, Calif., from last year’s 27-25 and Region IX runner-up team. Winn said Eichelberger’s nickname is “Mom,” since she is the mother-figure on the team of helping the girls excel on and off the court.

“The kids really have trusted her and she came in with the attitude of ‘I am here to help us make us better,’” Winn said. “The kids have really responded to that. She knows when they need to behave a little better and be a little bit more in tune of what we are doing. That is off the field, and what she does on the field is hard to explain. She is versatile and she hits for power.”

The other 11 players are all newcomers to the program, including sophomore transfer Jessica Ventoza, who transferred to WNCC from Highline Community College in Washington.

“She is a unique kid and a tremendous competitor, who probably hates to lose as much as I do,” Winn said. “She has tremendous foot speed, and we flipped her around to bat left-handed this spring to get some versatility. She will be a threat on the bases. She really worked hard to pick up the kids.”

With 12 players and 11 being freshmen, Winn doesn’t see a depth problem. She is pleased with the flexibility this team possesses.

“We don’t have a lot of bodies sitting on the bench, but we have kids that can interchange positions, and that is what is unique about us,” Winn said. “Having this versatile of a team really helps because if someone does go down with an injury, we might have to juggle some things, but we might not lose as much as people might think just having 12 players.”

Position-wise, Winn said they can go two and three deep. Here is a breakdown, by position, of this year’s Cougar softball team.

Pitcher
WNCC has four pitchers, with Natasha Dypchey of South Surrey, British Colombia, leading the charge. Right behind Dypchey is Jessica Pexton of Douglas, Wyo., who Winn said has improved considerably since the fall season. The other pitchers are Ashley Patton of Delta, Utah, and possibly Ashley Eichelberger in spots.

“Natasha threw really well for us in the fall. We have been doing pressure bullpens and charting pitches, and she is very consistent for us,” Winn said. “Pexton really has improved a lot for us and has more control with her curve ball and she is getting more pitches on the black. When she does miss, she is not missing down the middle of the plate.
“I also think Ashley Patton is a kid that will win a lot of ball games for us because she throws to her spots. She will not stand on the mound and intimidate and overpower you with speed, she just does the little things right. With those three kids, we see a lot. Natasha has a great rise ball, Pex has a really good curveball, and then you have Patton who has a great off-speed pitch.”

Catcher
The catching position is also deep with Amanda Torimaru of Ft. Collins, Colo., and Amanda Hensley, of Denver, Colo., ready to call the game behind the plate. Both catchers also led the team in hitting during the fall season. Torimaru batted .513 with three home runs and 28 RBIs, while Hensley hit .540 with 27 hits.

Lauren Bourdon of Duck Lake, Saskatchewan Canada, can also fill in behind the plate if needed, but Winn said Bourdon will more then likely see time in the outfield.

“We will see a lot of good things happen for us behind the dish for us,” Winn said. “Our battery will be controlled by freshmen. That is promising for us for the upcoming year. Tori and Hensley led the team in hitting in the fall. Obviously, both can’t catch at the same time, so you will see both of those kids in the field somewhere because they hit so well.”

First Base
The first base position will be anchored by Eichelberger and Pexton, when she doesn’t pitch. Winn said depth at first base won’t be a problem.

“Ashley does a really nice job maintaining the team and because our catchers are kind of quiet and she is our leader,” she said. “Pex came in with limited experience and got experience in the fall. She does some really nice things and has really grown a lot. We are excited to get her some time there and see how she responds in game situations.”

Second Base
The second base position will be anchored by Kara Ryman, of Westminster, Colo. Winn said they also have the luxury of moving either Dypchey, Ventoza or Jessie McNabb to second base at times.

“Kara came in as a high school shortstop, and primarily played second base in the fall for us,” Winn said. “We are pretty versatile at second, third and short. Those kids can all interchange.”

Shortstop
Ventoza is the main shortstop. When she isn’t playing there, Winn said she can play third, second or the outfield. Besides Ventoza’s fielding, she also will be a plus in the batting lineup, having stolen seven bases in the fall.

Thirdbase
The third base position will be handled mainly by McNabb, of Davidson, Saskatchewan Canada. Other players that can play that position include Eichelberger, and outfielders Bourdon and Lauren Mills.

“McNabb will primarily play third for us,” Winn said. “McNabb is athletic and a gutsy kid. She will dive for anything and she will work hard.”

Outfield
Winn said the outfield will feature a bunch of competitive and raw players. Roaming the grassy area will be Whittany Foster, of Greeley, Colo. Foster is a true outfielder, while the other players can play other positions on the infield. They include Mills of Birch Hills, Saskatchewan Canada, Bourdon, along with Torimaru, Hensley, Patten, Dypchey and Ventoza.

“Every kid on our team can play the outfield,” the third-year head coach said. “That is the one unique quality of this team, that everyone is interchangeable. Not everyone can pitch or catch, but with the other seven positions on the field, if you ask them to do it, they will give 100 percent.”

After this weekend’s contests, the team will be back on the road for Region IX games in Colorado. The team’s first home contest is scheduled for March 4 against Lamar Community College.