TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Softball Team Hits And Runs

ADVERTISEMENT

By DAREK SHARP, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 13, 2008

PLANT CITY - The best player on the Plant City High softball team, Kendall Dawson, is no longer a secret. That's what a free ride to play for the University of Alabama can do.

As a result, Dawson might have a down season, at least from an offensive statistics standpoint. Fortunately the Raiders are not a one-player team.

"I think it's going to be tough for her this year, just because some teams are not going to pitch to her," Plant City head coach Heidi Kouveras said. "Everybody knows about her now."

Because of that, expect the hitters ahead of Dawson in the lineup to flourish. The Raiders have some strong players in those spots, led by senior Kayce Hart and second baseman Tara "Red" Thomas.

Hart and Thomas hit well over .400 last season. Both are more "slap" hitters, more than satisfied to make contact and use their speed to reach base.

"We are an extremely speedy team," Kouveras said. The Raiders are also a young team, with 11 freshmen on the roster.

Amanda Polk and Analise Coffee are in the starting lineup and another ninth-grader, Mackenzie Audas, pitched during Plant City's preseason tournament at Bloomingdale.

Megan Still is the unquestioned ace on the mound. She threw the opener, a 5-2 win over Alonso on Feb. 1, and relieved Audas during the next day's 5-1 defeat of Sickles.

Either of those opponents could be a first-round playoff foe should Plant City make the postseason, as it has two of the past three years.

Dawson is taking a stronger role.

"She was not so much of a vocal leader before, she kind of just led by what she does on the field. But she knows people are watching her as an example," Kouveras said.

After the impressive preseason victories, the Raiders rolled into their regular-season opener by topping Freedom 8-0. Dawson had two doubles and drove in three.

This week, Plant City enters District 6A-8 play. The Raiders were scheduled to take on East Bay on Tuesday night and are at Riverview on Friday.

Durant also had a tremendous two-win preseason stop at Chamberlain. First the Cougars beat the hosts, a 5A state semifinalist last season, 3-1 before routing Plant 11-2.

The great start continued last week with a 10-6 win over Newsome in the first regular-season game. Kristen Jones had an inside-the-park homer and drove in four runs, and Erika Wetherington hit a double that went off the fence.

"The fences at Newsome are pretty deep. Anywhere else that's a home run," Durant head coach Matt Carter said.

Durant and Plant City play Feb. 19 at Plant City.

Reporter Darek Sharp can be reached at dsharp@tampatrib .com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT