Softball stinging spring with solid hitting
Softball still stings - It was a raw day for a doubleheader scrimmage March 16 at Sussex Central High School. A hard-hit softball still stings to high heaven; in reality it's just a bigger hardball. Cape played Delmarva Christian, then Easton, giving up no runs and hitting the ball hard all day, according to second-year coach Jeff Evans. “We played the same teams as Sussex Central and beat them by the same score, so I guess that means we’re as good as them,” Evans said, coming off the bus back at Cape and laughing at his own joke. “But I’ll tell you, we’ve got some hitters on this team. We’re all excited about the season.” Cape plays for-real games at Smyrna Monday, March 25, then at Milford Wednesday, March 27. Smyrna made the tournament last season, finished 9-9 and beat Cape in the opener 6-5. Milford was 12-6 last season, losing in the third round of the state tournament 3-0 to Sussex Tech. Last season in game two, the Bucs beat Cape 11-1.
Autofill - I know Dick Vitale is insane and throw in Digger Phelps and the rest of them. March Madness at my house means my mother-in-law is coming for Easter week. I almost picked “auto fill” on the online pool I paddle around in with D.J. Hughes as the lifeguard. If I’m lucky enough to remember a user name and password half the time I can find my way back so I have no idea who I picked because there is no rhyme or reason to my madness. I had Gonzaga winning the entire tournament and I don’t even know where or what a Gonzaga is. I think I had Miami getting through on the other side just because I like watching point guard Shane Larkin play. He seems to have inherited his dad’s fun gene.
Keep it on the down low - The level of sports that generates the most family interest is middle school. The same goes for Little League and youth soccer and lacrosse and all the travel U-Haul teams as in, “She plays U15 but she’s only 10; the girl can’t help it; she’s just that good.” And so if you see me at a down-low sporting event, don’t ask me, “What are you doing here?” because chances are I might just be lost.
Coach bus - College athletes never ride yellow buses; it’s against NCAA regulations. A Coach bus with digital marquee is a sign you have arrived - that and diesel fumes. Mount Hebron, a public school in Howard County, Md., where coach P.J. Kesmodel coached before retiring to Cape, arrived at Cape’s play day weekend last Friday by Coach bus. The coaches were quick to compliment all Cape people on the outstanding facilities while Cape people - OK, me - kept looking back and thinking “nice bus.” Mount Hebron coach Trish Sullivan replaced P.J. as head coach and bought his house when he exited for Rehoboth.
Snippets - Bernie Nowakowski is out as the football coach at Sussex Tech. I and every coach in the Henlopen Conference have known this for weeks. Basically when you go to websites4sports and click on coaches you will find "Yes, we have no Nowakowski,” a version of transparency, but you have to squint your eyes. But it's worse because Bernie’s name is gone from the years when he was head coach, although the 48-27 2010 win at Cape in which Desmond Sivels scored five touchdowns is still there. It would be like me reading the masthead of the Cape Gazette and finding no sports editor retroactive to when I started, so remind me to check it. (Note: There seems to be a wobble on the website that has disappeared coaches who were there, replacing them with ones who were not (“There is no way I was 1-9; you better get my name off there.”). The word on the street from real people in the world of sports is that Bernie is a good guy and always has been and still is. I used to tell my students “Just because you are right doesn’t mean you win - consider that a life lesson." Megan Fullmer, a stellar Cape midfielder from the early days of Cape lacrosse, is an assistant at Sussex Tech where her niece Kellen Cannon is a senior all-state attack player. Bruce Hefke, the shop guy with the big vocabulary who built my house in his spare time and who has been with the program since its inception, stepped off from coaching. Coach/teacher Don Steele, a soccer/lacrosse guy and heating and air guy who can also teach computer assisted drawing, retired from Tech and will be working with Laurel overseeing new school construction.
Go on now, git!
