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By BOB PUTNAM
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 15, 2000
Clearwater Bombers 18-under manager Dave Hazzard couldn't wait for the weekend.
That was when star players Claire Sua, Jenny Gladding and Mylin Prieto were going to join the team for the 2000 Women's Major Fast-Pitch ASA National Championships, held Aug. 9-13 at Bomber Stadium in Clearwater.
The three had prior commitments and couldn't play during the week. Hazzard said if his team could stay alive until the weekend, it stood a chance of contending with Sua, Gladding and Prieto returning.
The weekend never came.
The Bombers, a host team, were eliminated after three games. They beat the Arizona Firestorm 2-1 before losing to Team Texas 3-1 and the Yuengling A's of Pennsylvania 2-1.
"It would have been nice to have them around," Hazzard said. "It would have made a big difference."
More problematic than the missing players was that the Bombers lost star pitcher Catherine Osterman to injury. Osterman pulled a leg muscle in the game to Texas and left the Bombers with a thin pitching staff.
"We just had a little bit of bad fortune," Hazzard said.
The Bullets 18-under team, the other host, didn't fare much better. They went 1-2 as well. Like the Bombers, the Bullets moved up from the 18-under division to play in the open tournament and could keep only a few players from their original roster. Those remaining with the team were: April Coggins, Lindsey Ijjas, Kristen Keyes, Dianna Korcak, Brooke Massey and Kerri Ryskamp.
The team picked up college players Dawn Wallace (UT), Monique Marier (FSU), Dana Vickery (Charleston Southern) and Crystal Boyer (FIU).
The ASA National Championships was the first major womens fast-pitch tournament Clearwater has hosted since 1956. The open tournament had 23 teams from Arizona, California, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Texas. The field included older elite players and those still playing in college.
"It was great for the girls," Bullets manager Rick Massey said. "They got to play with some exceptional athletes."