Bloomingdale's 2004 softball team didn't win the state championship, but its coach wouldn't trade them for any other.
By TERRY JONES
Published May 28, 2004
VALRICO - For 11 years Mike Clamon has coached the Bloomingdale softball program, experiencing the ups of great teams and the downs of lesser talented squads. This year was one of Clamon's highest ups.
Although the Bulls were eliminated in the Class 6A state semifinals, the run they made to reach that point has Clamon believing this team was the best one yet.
"I was an assistant coach under Charles Perdomo the year they won the state championship and that was a great team," Clamon said. "However, I became head coach the following year and this has been the best team I have coached."
In addition to winning the district and regional championships, Bloomingdale posted some top individual and team numbers.
The team finished with a 28-3 record and a combined batting average of .315. In 218 innings, they made a total of 34 errors, recording a team fielding average of .922. The Bulls outscored their opponents 146-32.
Allison Kime, the ace pitcher headed to the University of Tampa next year, struck out 292 batters on the season and recorded an ERA of 0.42.
Bloomingdale will lose five starters to graduation and seven seniors total.
"First of all, Allison is irreplaceable," he said. "Not just as a pitcher, but as a team leader and a person. Then our seniors simply played their hearts out all season and in every game one or more always stepped up for us. Everybody on the team got along. They looked out for each other, not just themselves. That's unusual for teenage girls, but this team was one and just full of super people."
Clamon said the seniors as a group batted .365, a stat which made a big difference for the team's season.
Factor in Kime's strikeouts and ERA and Clamon said the team will be difficult to rebuild.
With a batting average of .438, Kime was also the top hitter for the season; center fielder Kristin Maas was close behind at .403. They each had 39 hits and combined to score 46 runs and record 23 RBIs.
Also finishing with averages above .300 were Tiffany Anderson, Jasmine Rivera, Haley Tanner, Melissa Mestre and Laura Williams. Anderson led the team in RBIs with 34, while Rivera was second with 21.
Defensively, Williams, Mestre and Angelina Tuberosa were perfect for the season, committing no errors.
"This team had, I believe, the best pitcher in the state, plus it played great defense and could hit," Clamon said. "I just want to savor these memories for a while before focusing on the next team."
