Milligan College Buffaloes

(April 13, 2008) --- Officially, it's nothing more than a six-inning exhibition. But Milligan College head softball coach Wes Holly is clear where today's matchup with the U.S. Olympic team at Cardinal Park ranks in the history of his program.

“It's definitely the biggest game ever played by Milligan softball,” Holly said. “There has been a lot of attention given to it, and the whole community has supported it, evident by the ticket sales. We're thankful to give our girls the opportunity to play the U.S. Olympic team.”

As part of the 42-stop “Bound 4 Beijing Tour,” the Lady Buffs will become the first NAIA school team ever to host the national team. Holly has stressed to his Lady Buffs not to get caught up looking at the Team USA uniforms, but does admit it's hard not to be awestruck seeing the icons of the sport like Jennie Finch, Monica Abbott and Cat Osterman on the opposing bench.
“They are without question a solid ball club, the best in the world,” said Holly.
“They're beating many (NCAA) Division 1 and all-star teams by 20 runs. But we don't think about divisions or that uniform. We're just thankful to get to play against them. They're role models and ambassadors for the USA, taking fast-pitch softball to the world.”

The veteran coach's voice even goes up a notch when talking about players like Crystal Bustos and Andrea Duran, each of whom had belted 10 home runs for the Olympic team prior to Saturday's 4-2 victory at Tennessee. Jessica Mendoza ranked third-best on the team with seven home runs as part of her .486 batting average.

While there are plenty of other capable hitters, like Laura Berg and her .481 average, it's not all about power.

There are also slappers like Caitlin Lowe and Natasha Whaley, who have helped the team achieve an overall .417 batting average. Even the head coach Mike Candrea is considered the best in the business, winning eight NCAA national championships and earning 19 College World Series appearances at the University of Arizona.

Finch, one of his old Lady Wildcat players, pitched a nohitter on Thursday against UNC-Greensboro and Abbott beat her old team at Tennessee on Saturday. That puts Osterman as the probable starter for Team USA today.

The 6-2 left-hander from Houston boasts quite a resume, capturing championship-game wins in each of the last two years' World Championships. She earned an Olympic gold medal in 2004 and is a two-time gold medalist in the Pan-American Games.

While leading Texas to three College World Series appearances in four years, Osterman became the only three-time winner of the USA Softball Collegiate player of the year award. She also won the ESPY in consecutive years (2005-06) as the nation's top female collegiate athlete.

Getting any hit off of her will be a challenge. The Lady Buffs have some good players at the NAIA level, but it's clear that facing Osterman is a difficult task. Sporting a 4-0 record on the pre-Olympic tour, she has struck out 70 batters and allowed only nine hits.

The Lady Buff with the best chance against Osterman appears to be former Happy Valley star Jessica Blevins. She was leading the team with a .373 average and four home runs prior to a Saturday double-header against UVa.-Wise.

Leah White ranked second on the team at .336, while Laken Stewart and Sarah Smith were the other leading hitters, each .316 at the plate. Smith, a former Elizabethton standout, has recovered from injuries last season to give the Lady Buffs some extra pop this season.

“Sarah is doing really well,” said Holly. “She's our spark plug . We can't say how valuable she's been to our team. She's a great team leader, our offensive girl. We get her on-base and we normally make something happen.”

Milligan had posted an overall record of 21-14 and were 7-1 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference heading into Saturday. The biggest reason according to Holly was in the circle, where Sidney Burns had compiled a 1.10 ERA to go along with a 15-7 record and former Unaka star Ryann Musick had a 1.77 ERA with three saves.

“We've had outstanding pitching performances from our freshman Sidney Burns,” Holly said. “Kayla Burns is injured right now, so Sidney and Ryann Musick have been doing the pitching duties. Sidney's been a workhorse and we've been bringing Ryann in as a closer. Our pitching and defense have been really solid.”

The Lady Buffs weren't able to see games by the Olympic squad at either Greensboro and Knoxville since they were playing at the same times. They still have watched plenty of tape and games on television to know the tendencies of the Olympic players.

“We're definitely familiar with all of them,” said Holly. “It's different when you step up there and face them in live action. Can we execute and challenge them?”

The U.S. team shows one chink in its armor, upset 1-0 by Virginia Tech last month when Andrea Tincher pitched a no-hitter. Snapping a 185-game winning streak, it was the first set-back for the national team since May 3, 1996. Sandwiched around that loss was a 23-0 romp over DePaul and a 21-0 shutout of New Mexico State.

The U.S. team is 21-1 overall against a schedule made up entirely of NCAA Division 1 schools and allstar teams. The Olympians had outscored their opponents by an average score of 12-0.

Today's game has been sold out for two weeks, and the biggest crowd ever to attend a game at Cardinal Park (nearly 4,000) is expected. Gates open at noon, with the first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.

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