THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 4, 1996 TAG: 9607020153
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 76 lines
Spring brought winds of change to the Eastern District softball race.
No longer was there a dominating fireballer who could easily strike out 15 or 16 batters a game and then have her team finish second in the league. Instead, Donna Self, the Booker T. Washington pitcher who terrorized district batters for years, was doing the same thing to college players, compiling a 7-0 record for Hampton University.
Gone, too, was Granby's hold on the league title.
The Comets, along with Lake Taylor and Booker T. Washington, tied with a 6-2 finish. The Bookers, picked fourth in the pre-season, got the advantage on head-to-head runs scored. The Titans took second and bumped Granby out of the Eastern District tournament for a berth in the Eastern Region playoffs.
Also new to the league were night games. The girls had the chance to play under the lights at Azalea Little League for the first time this season.
About the only thing that did stay the same was the Coach of the Year. For the second straight season, Booker T.'s Paul Palombo earned the honors, but he'll be long gone soon, too, after accepting a job as the Princess Anne High athletic director.
Another old commodity was the Player of the Year. Again, it went to a pitcher. But this pitcher, an infielder and part-time catcher last year, was new to the mound.
Shannon Rosenbaum, a Lake Taylor junior, made her debut as a pitcher in 1996 and took home Player of the Year honors.
Rosenbaum amassed an 11-4 record on the mound with 76 strikeouts and a 2.25 ERA. At the plate, she hit .560 with 19 RBIs. She stole 17 bases and scored 33 runs.
Earning the other first team pitching spot was Granby junior Elaine McCall. McCall was 6-5 overall and 2-2 in the league. She struck out 56 batters, allowed 68 hits and had a 4.19 ERA.
Kacey Wardlaw, a Lake Taylor junior, was named the first team catcher. Wardlaw hit .350 and knocked in 25 runs.
Infielders named to the team were Booker T.'s Raquita Washington, Norview's Tammy Langston, Lake Taylor's Tracey Millard and Penney Fay, and Annie Schultz of Maury.
Washington, a junior who moved to shortstop from the outfield this season, hit .526 with 22 RBIs. She stole 31 bases and scored 41 runs.
Langston, a senior repeat performer, hit .250 with two triples and a double. In the field, she had 41 putouts and 37 assists as she crafted an .800 fielding percentage.
Millard, the Titan shortstop, batted .330 and knocked in 16 runs.
Faye, a senior, hit .411 with 28 RBIs. She stole 11 bases and scored 26 runs. She also had 17 stolen bases and had a .675 slugging percentage.
Schultz, the only freshman named to the first team, batted .376, knocked in 16 runs and stole 10 bases. She had 30 put-outs for a .975 fielding average.
Named to the first team in the outfield was Granby's Gina Frazier.
Frazier, a junior centerfielder, hit .305 with 13 RBIs. She had a .972 fielding percentage with 30 putouts.
Rounding out the first team in the utility spot is Booker T. Washington's Charity Thomas. Thomas began the season as a reserve, moved into the starting lineup at first base and then ended the year behind the plate when catcher Cheryl Haynes was injured in a car accident.
Thomas finished with a .341 average and 36 RBIs. She scored 16 runs and had six stolen bases. < ILLUSTRATION: Photos
Penney Faye
Gina Frazier
Tammy Langston
Elaine McCall
Tracey Millard
Shannon Rosenbaum
Annie Schultz
Charity Thomas
Kacey Wardlaw
Raquita Washington by CNB