By By Marty Stamper/EMG sports assistant
May 17, 2002
KISSIMMEE, Fla. Three of the starters for the Meridian Community College Lady Eagle team that is playing in the 2002 NJCAA Division I Fast-Pitch Softball National Championship prepped at high schools in Lauderdale County.
Sophomore catcher Robin Holland played at West Lauderdale, while freshman third baseman Lindsey Stamm and freshman right fielder Morgan Wright both played at Clarkdale.
Stamm and Wright played both fast-pitch and slow-pitch at Clarkdale, while Holland played only slow-pitch at West Lauderdale as that school does not field a team in fast-pitch.
For the regular season, Wright was second on the team in batting average at .294. She also had a team-best 12 stolen bases. Defensively, she had only four errors in 78 chances.
Holland batted .255 with three doubles and 18 RBIs. Defensively, she had just four errors in 233 chances.
Stamm batted . 235 with two doubles, two triples, and 24 RBIs. Defensively, she had 18 errors in 149 chances. In the District O playoff series with Central Alabama, Stamm went 3-for-10.
Holland played five years on West Lauderdale's slow-pitch team. She started at shortstop as a senior after spending most of her career at first base. The Lady Knights won three Class 3A state championships in that five-year span and were state runner-up the other two years.
She had never played fast-pitch before inking with MCC.
Holland finally worked her way into the Lady Eagles lineup behind the plate. She's made the catcher's position hers.
Having played both versions of softball, Holland's favorite is obvious.
While Holland came to MCC basically clueless about fast-pitch, Wright and Stamm had played for Clarkdale coach Rick Roberson, a known stickler for fundamentals.
Wright's biggest highlight this year came in the season opener.
Wright had 12 of MCC's 34 steals heading into last week's best-of-three series win over Central Alabama.
For Stamm, the season highlight was the first game with Region 23 Division I rival Bossier Parish.