Community

Sharks with a bite

After an off-season of travel softball, this trio turned into ...

By Mike Camunas, Times Correspondent
Published February 22, 2008

Lizzy Olmstead, left, Ashley Antczak, center, and Jen Marshall are sophomores on the Nature Coast High softball team.
	[Maurice Rivenbark | Times]

BROOKSVILLE

Only two seasons ago, Nature Coast fielded a softball team that finished with a 0-26 record. Last season, there was a marked improvement from that disaster, thanks to an influx of young talent, but the Sharks still struggled because of inexperience and a lack of leadership.

Those problems were solved thanks in large part to the play of three individuals on one of the most successful club programs in the Tampa Bay area.

Sophomores Ashley Antzcak, Jen Marshall and Lizzy Olmstead were three of the five starting freshmen for the Sharks a season ago. All played for the Tampa Mustangs during this past off-season and credit the squad for their leaps and bounds on and off the field.

Antzcak has been Nature Coast's ace on the mound, but she was a little erratic at times and sometimes became rattled in pressure situations. Marshall, as the Sharks' starting catcher, should have been a natural leader, but as a freshman, that role didn't come easily to her. Olmstead also struggled with consistency at the plate in her first season.

The Mustangs faced other players their age playing at or above the same talent level. Success in larger tournaments supplied the girls, specifically Olmstead, with plenty of confidence.

"I'd say that would be the place where I changed the most from last season," Olmstead said. "I definitely have more confidence out there because I know I've played against tougher competition than this before."

Established in 1981, the Mustangs, who are the state's oldest travel softball club, have since won 21 national championships between its five age divisions and one international championship. The three Sharks competed with the 16-and-under age group.

Their squad took first place in a national tournament in September at Disney's Wide World of Sports near Orlando.

The victory proved to be important in the development of the Nature Coast trio.

"Playing in that tournament showed us a lot," Marshall said. "The pitching was faster and the hitters were tougher than anything we'd ever seen before."

Mustangs coach Jeff Almand uses a motivational style of coaching to keep the girls on track.

Marshall and Olmstead have felt comfortable enough on the field to slip into solid leadership roles this season, while that same comfort has allowed Antzcak to trust her talent on the mound.

"There's a lot of pressure when you start as a freshman, so this season was an important one for all of those girls," first-year Nature Coast coach Mettina Maggiore said. "Lizzy is growing into a leader, and Marshall knows she has to be the field general behind the plate."

Maggiore, a two-year starter for Eckerd College at second base, was pleasantly surprised with what she had to work with when she took over the program. The team's 9-16 record from a season ago did not indicate its talent level, and after a 4-0 start this season, Nature Coast looks to be a force.

Antzcak epitomized that turnaround last week in a victory over county rival Springstead. Tossing a no-hitter against another pitching phenom, the Eagles' Becky Powell, Antzcak dominated a team that most thought was the best in the county.

"Beating Springstead was our first real goal this season," Antzcak said. "Now that that's out of the way, we are going to take this as far we can."

With the Tampa Mustangs, Antzcak, a sophomore at Nature Coast, spends a majority of the time pitching in relief on a three-pitcher staff. In a pitching motion reminiscent of Japanese baseball pitchers, Antzcak tends to look to the side when she pitches instead of toward the plate. Coaches believe this makes her stuff more deceptive.

Jen Marshall, catcher

Marshall, a sophomore at Nature Coast, is considered a utility player by the Mustang staff, also playing third and first base. Mustangs coach Jeff Almand believes her attitude warrants her needing a place in the lineup as much as possible. Marshall suffered ligament damage in her ankle last year during her freshman basketball season. The injury requires that she wear an ankle brace at all times.

Lizzy Olmstead, second base

Olmstead, also a sophomore, can play all three outfield positions and does so for the Mustangs. Naturally a right-handed hitter, she has worked with the Tampa coaching staff and her father to develop slap-style contact hitting from the left side. She is quickly becoming an above-average switch-hitter.

[Last modified February 21, 2008, 20:37:29]