Bishop State Women Look to Move Up

February 03, 2009

by Arthur L. Mack, Press-Register Sports Coorespondent
There is only one way for Bishop State's softball team to go – up.

The Wildcats didn't win a game last season.

"When I came on in October of 2007, I missed the scouting period, and it set us back some," second-year coach Keith Locke said. "We hope to do a lot better this year. The experience level last year was pretty low, and we were more of like a club team."

Locke returns two starters Ñ catcher Kelsey Levins, who prepped at Davidson, and left fielder Sandra Thornon, who prepped at Fruitdale.

"We're really young this year, but the work ethic is outstanding," said Locke. "They're doing what I and the sport are asking them to do. I've been telling the team that, individually and collectively, it's a dogfight every day because they're playing for a position. We've been stressing a lot of fundamentals, and we did some minor tweaking."

Two of the top newcomers are second baseman Brittney Brown of Bainbridge, Ga., and Anquaniesha Thomas of Gautier, Miss., who is a is a left-handed shortstop.

Other key newcomers include Courtney Taylor of Lithonia, Ga., and pitcher Jessica Tompson of Talledega. "We're so young, we're an undefined team right now," said Locke. "We haven't been tested yet, but we're going to go out there and play hard. The enthusiasm our players have is a coach's dream, and they've got something to prove."

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Contact:
Herb Jordan
Director of Public Relations
P: (251) 405-7135
F: (251) 432-7812
hjordan@bishop.edu