|
|
|
|
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Practice Makes Perfect?
Central Oklahoma, OK
|
|
|
For Deer Creek’s Amanda Alston, playing, not practicing is what she likes best
As soon as Amanda Alston steps to the mound, batters know they’re going to have a tough time.
What they may not know is that pitch is the first one she’s thrown since her last game.
“I know this sounds crazy, but I never practice,” the Deer Creek junior said. “I just pitch when it’s time to go. I don’t want to sound horrible, but I just don’t practice.”
Practice or not, Alston is one of the best pitchers and hitters in the state. And when she suffered neck and back injuries in a car wreck this summer, she still didn’t let it keep her from attending her favorite tournament in Colorado.
Going into her junior season, Alston already has an abundance of accomplishments. She pitched a shutout at the Class 4A state tournament and struck out 233 batters during her freshman season. She followed that up by going 19-11 with 332 strikeouts and a 1.36 earned run average last year.
The highlight of her sophomore campaign was a Class 5A state tournament contest against Coweta in which she struck out 27 batters. She did so by going a full 14 innings.
“That was amazing. I didn’t know I could go that long, but I put my mind to it,” Alston said. “I really didn’t get tired either, because I was so pumped up. Even though we lost that game, it felt like we won.”
This season, Alston is expected to be relied on by her tradition-rich Lady Antlers as much as possible. In fact, her coach sees it as a no-brainer that she could pitch all but a few innings.
“We’re going to go with her as much as we can,” Ron Moore said. “She’s a left-handed pitcher, which you just don’t see that often. She can throw in, out, up, down. And, if her change-up is working, she’s even better.”
However, as sold as Moore is on Alston’s pitching prowess, he sees even greater potential behind the plate.
Last season, Alston batted .440 with a team-high 42 RBI and nine home runs, three of which came during the state tournament.
“I think she’s a better hitter than pitcher. I really do,” he said. “She just takes a hack. She looks like she’s in a home-run derby out there. She hit a grand slam last year at the Oklahoma Tournament that went out of the stadium in centerfield. Not the park, the stadium. “She’s got more power than any girl I’ve seen and she still has two years left with us.”
Alston, who spends summers with the Oklahoma Stealth select team, has never had a personal hitting coach and only worked with a pitching instructor for one year when she was 10-years old.
Then there’s the whole practice thing. If Deer Creek’s newest star ever catches on to all the resources at her disposal, her numbers could really get big.
“She really has the potential to get a lot better,” Moore said.
“I think her talent is still pretty untapped, as far as what
she’s capable of.”
|
|
| No comments added! Click [ add a comment ] to be the first! |
|
|
|
|
|
The Village Voice
My father started in the hardware sporting goods business in 1929 in Shawnee. I went into partnership with my brother...
More 
Archives
|
|
|
|
Brittni Walker
Brittni Walker of Carl Albert is the setter for one of the best teams in Class 4A. Walker, who also...
More
Archives
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basketball season doesn’t start until the end of November, but October is a big month, too. That’s when practices get...
More
Archives
|
|
 ™
|
|
A collection of this month's best action photos.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to upgrade your Flash Player to version 9 or newer.
|
|
|
|
®
