THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 10, 1996 TAG: 9604100540
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Athlete of the Week
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Prior to this season, Norfolk Collegiate softball pitcher Devon Chapman didn't even know she was spending her time on the wrong side of the plate.
However, the former Cox player was satisfied because she was doing what she loved most: catching.
But her days behind the plate were numbered. And thanks to her summer league coach Pete Thompson, who also coaches her at Norfolk Collegiate, Chapman made the move. Not only to a new school, but to the other side of the plate.
``Mr. Thompson said to me, `Hey, Devon, you're not a catcher anymore. You're a pitcher,' '' Chapman said of her summer stint with the Virginia Lady Eagles, a National Softball Association team.
After minimal pitching at Cox - she was the Falcons' backup behind Courtney O'Konek and saw limited action - Chapman wasn't confident she could adjust to the mound. After all, she'd be sharing it in the summer with Princess Anne's Melissa Hirsch and Salem's Bronwyn Blair, both considered to be among the best pitchers in the area.
So Chapman begged Thompson to return her to her spot behind the plate.
``But then I got hurt at a play at home,'' she said. ``He said, `Never again will you catch,' and that was the end of it.''
Good thing. By summer's end, Chapman added a changeup, an off-speed pitch, a drop ball and a fastball in excess of 58 mph.
Then Chapman, wanting to stay with her summer league coach, transferred to Norfolk Collegiate and in her first varsity start pitched a no-hitter against Hampton Roads Academy. She threw another against Atlantic Shores last Thursday in the Booker T. Washington Spring Classic. And in between, she's surrendered just 10 hits, struck out 75 and has a 0.34 earned-run average in 41 innings of work.
For these efforts, Chapman is The Virginian-Pilot's female athlete of the week.
``Before, I was scared to death of the mound,'' Chapman said. ``Now I love it.''
And the Oaks love having her there. Norfolk Collegiate is 6-0 heading into Thursday's showdown against defending league champion Nansemond-Suffolk.
``Devon has made a world of difference,'' Thompson said. ``She's bringing her teammates confidence in the team concept.''
All the while, she's overwhelmed with the fast-paced world of pitching.
``I never thought I'd be this successful,'' she said. ``I thought I could make it if I put my mind to it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo<
by CNB