Softball Classic showcases area's best players

An all-star softball game is a convenient way to bring together athletes from schools both big and not so big.

The first pitch of Friday night’s Panhandle Softball Classic is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Bay High School, and the game will feature players from 15 schools ranging in size from diminutive Malone with fewer than 600 students up to Niceville, a behemoth by comparison with 2,300.

East coach Bruce Hubbs said those attendance figures belie the fact that quality softball exists at every classification and in communities of all sizes. Niceville, which is represented by four players on the West roster, won the Class 5A state championship this spring. But both all-star clubs’ rosters are crammed with players who competed in regional tournaments in every classification short of 6A, and many of them have signed letters of intent to play in college next year.

“What’s surprising is that some small schools will do much better than the big schools,” Hubbs said. “There are competitive schools in Jacksonville, Tallahassee and other places, but I’ll tell you what, sometimes small schools run some great programs. … Smaller schools for some strange reason attract players. This year we didn’t have trouble finding players. We had trouble finding (NCAA) Division I players, but we had no trouble finding players.

“I’ve been at Arnold, I’ve been at Crestview and (Pensacola) Woodham, and I had a hard time finding players. It’s surprising how some schools — and Blountstown is one of them — can field a competitive team. They’re not always D-I prospects, but there are enough girls you don’t have to shut down your JV team. There are some quality little schools outside of Panama City that really do a good job.”

Hubbs added that traveling teams and summer programs have helped athletes from smaller schools keep pace with those that play at the bigger schools. It’s not inconceivable anymore that a batter from a Class 1A program can step into the box and expect success against a pitcher like Niceville’s Jessa Watts, who was 21-3 this year in the pitcher’s circle with 18 complete games and 195 strikeouts.

“Because of travel ball,” Hubbs said, “I think some of that novelty has worn off a little bit. They’ve seen (the other players), they know who they are a little bit. They put their pants on like we do. Though a girl may come from a bigger school and a bigger pool (of talent), they know them a little bit, they know what they do. They’re not as intimidated as they used to be.”

Hubbs said he will “try to knock some rust off” his players when they practice for the first time together tonight. He expected that the hardest part of his duties will be determining who plays where. With so many expected substitutions during a seven-inning game, some players may be forced to play a position with which they aren’t familiar.

“You’ve got a bench full of players not used to sitting on bench because they were probably the best player on their team,” Hubbs said. “I’ll say early, ‘Look girls, we only have a certain number of positions, and I’ll do my best to rotate you and get you in and play you where you like to play.’ Some girls have been told by college coaches they want them to play, say, third base. I’m not going to put them in right field if they want to play third base.

“If we end up with seven shortstops, though, that doesn’t work. I’ll try to be honest up front and say to the girls that they have to be flexible here. Be flexible. But in these four, five years that I’ve done this, I’ve never had any complaints. Most of the time you can work that out.”

The East team will feature Arnold’s Maryann Kline, who led the county with eight home runs, and Marlin teammate Michelle Ostrovsky, who batted .446 with five homers and 40 runs batted in. Mosley teammates Ashley Welch and Aubrey Browne batted .321 and .304, respectively. Bozeman pitcher Brittany Benefield was 13-8 this year with 85 strikeouts.

Holmes County’s Jenna Belser, who was one of the Panhandle’s top players with a .523 batting average, four homers and 44 RBIs, will play for the West club. Her Blue Devil teammate, Carly Long, will join her on the West roster after batting .342.