THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 9, 1996 TAG: 9606070233
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 27 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, CLIPPER SPORTS EDITOR
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: 60 lines
Western Branch senior Nicole Belote, who earned first-team All-City honors as a pitcher and a utility player, has been named the 1996 Chesapeake softball Player of the Year, as selected by Southeastern District coaches and The Virginian-Pilot.
Belote, a four-year starter for the Bruins, led her team to its fourth straight appearance in the Eastern Region tournament before falling to Bayside 1-0 in the semifinals.
The righthander started more than half of her team's games on the mound and played third during some late innings.
Belote compiled a 15-4 record while striking out 77 in 101 1/3 innings of work. She surrendered just 46 hits to 458 batters faced and crafted a 1.60 ERA.
On offense, Belote batted .382 with 21 hits in 55 at-bats. She scored 16 runs, knocked in eight and stole 15 bases.
Western Branch, which finished first in the league race with a 13-1 record, captured a team-high five spots on the first team. Great Bridge, the district's runner-up, had four.
Here's a look at the first team picks:
Catchers: Top honors went to Stephanie Dyer of Indian River and Heather Ward of Great Bridge. Dyer threw out nine of 22 runners attempting to steal. She had a .509 batting average, took a team-high 18 walks and hit three home runs. Ward, a junior, hit close to .500 for the Wildcats.
Pitchers: Joining Belote is Great Bridge fireballer Denise Wack. Only a junior, Wack led the Wildcats to their fourth straight Eastern Region appearance. Wack struck out 148 batters and surrendered 100 hits in 152 innings of work. She compiled a 0.92 ERA and hit .245 average.
Infielders: Western Branch first baseman Calee Morris, Oscar Smith middle infielders Starr and Amber Parker, and Bruins' third baseman Jennifer Sajko earned honors. Morris, a senior, finished her career with a .333 average and drove in eight runs. Senior shortstop Starr Parker had a .912 fielding percentage, a .254 batting average with 15 RBIs and was successful on all six stolen bases attempts. Her younger sister, Amber Parker, a sophomore second baseman, led the Tigers with 21 hits for a .327 average. She also drove in nine runs. Sajko, a senior, hit .333 with 11 RBIs and scored 15 runs.
Outfielders: Named to the first team were Western Branch's Jaci Morris and Great Bridge's Dana Crisostomo and Elizabeth Bain. Morris had 12 putouts with no errors. She hit .333 with 11 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Crisostomo had 17 put outs , two errors and a .293 average with 10 RBIs and 28 runs scored. Bain, a senior, had 12 putouts, a .422 average and 13 RBIs.
Utility: Belote wrapped up this spot with a stellar performance in the infield when she wasn't pitching.
Designated Hitter: Whitney Temple, a sophomore, provided the offensive punch for the Bruins in the DH spot, batting in the upper .400s. ILLUSTRATION: HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
File photo by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Western Branch senior Nicole Belote pitches and is a utility player.
ALL-STARS
[For a copy of the roster, see microfilm for this date.] by CNB