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Area's best carried her team to wins

Chrissy Hartley did it all in leading the Leopards to another final four berth.

By GREG AUMAN

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 19, 2001

In her senior year, Chrissy Hartley broke her strikeout record with more than a month left in the season.

BROOKSVILLE -- Looking back, a big reason Hernando senior Chrissy Hartley looked so dominating might have been because opponents were seeing so much more of her.

As a junior, she led the Leopards to the state softball final, starring as both a dangerous hitter and a pitcher who set a school record for strikeouts.

But as a senior, she was unavoidable. Instead of pitching in 20 games, she appeared in 28 -- including nearly every one down the stretch -- breaking her strikeout record with more than a month left in the season.

As a hitter, she moved from third in the lineup to leadoff, setting a school record with 51 hits and leading Hernando County with 38 runs, 25 RBI and 4 home runs.

In all, she was the area's most dominant player, winner of the Times' 10th annual All-Suncoast Player of the Year honor.

"She was dangerous before, but her getting more at-bats as a leadoff hitter was a pitfall for a lot of teams," said Central coach Benny Martinez, whose team handed Hartley the first of her three losses.

"The kids worked hard and played their best against Hernando because they knew that was what it would take to beat her."

Hernando's second consecutive trip to the final four ended with another loss to the eventual state champion. This time, it was 9-1 to Miami Gulliver Prep in the semifinals. What allowed the Leopards' post-season to continue beyond most expectations wasn't Hartley's pitching or hitting, but her poise in keeping a young team together and focused.

"The biggest difference from the early part of the season to the end was the leadership she exhibited," Hernando coach Ernie Chatman said.

"The way she stepped up, it was important to everyone."

Her statistics were gaudy -- 23-3 with a 0.65 ERA, including three no-hitters and part of a perfect game. She finished with 271 strikeouts, 44.8 percent of the batters she faced.

"She threw the ball as hard as anyone we faced," Ridgewood coach Greg Bollinger said. "In talking to our girls, they all mentioned her drop ball; said it was the kind that will really hurt your hands if you don't hit it with the right part of the bat.

"Not that we hit it that often against her."

At the plate, Hartley was a right-handed pull hitter third basemen had nightmares about, ripping doubles down the line even with defenses shifted against her.

When the situation called for it, however, she doubled to the opposite field to set up Hernando's lone run in the state semifinals.

Hartley piled up most of her hitting statistics while leading off for the first time in her career, a move that took some adjustment in the wake of the midseason suspensions of four players

"I wasn't too happy about it at first, but after a few games, I saw it was actually helping my batting average," she said. "I usually like to stand out there and time the pitcher, and I didn't have time to do that any more.

"But what Coach Chatman did kicked me in the butt a little; made me do something extra to make myself better."

In Hartley, Chatman saw a potential Rickey Henderson -- respected for her home-run potential, feared as a threat on the basepaths and a team catalyst. Hartley stole 17 bases in 18 attempts and scored 14 more runs than her closest teammate.

"She accepted a new role, but she also accepted a new offensive philosophy," Chatman said. "She was finding ways to contribute as opposed to seeing how far she could hit the ball. That's one way I'll remember how she matured."

And as omnipresent as Hartley was in Hernando's success, she did not showcase all of her skills.

She signed with Pasco-Her- nando Community College before the season as a shortstop, and coaches rave as much about her defensive abilities, which often took a back seat to her arm and bat this season.

In guiding Hernando to a school-record 30 wins, being the area's most feared pitcher and hitter was enough.

"She was the Leopards," Martinez said.

"She carried the team as far as they went for two years. It was scary at times."

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