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Dec. 24, 2002 - In Nov., most of the NCAA
Div. 1 and competitive Div. 2 programs signed all of their 2003 players and are now
evaluating 2004 players. As usual, a lot of their focus is on 2004 pitchers,
because pitchers are involved in almost every play.
The two best 2004 pitchers maybe Amanda Scarborough and Hillary
Dawson. Both pitchers live on the north side of Houston.
The rumor is that Texas A&M is already got a jump on everyone after receiving
verbal commitments from Amanda Scarborough and
Megan Gibson. I
radared Amanda Scarborough throwing 63 mph at Houston Metro and at U of H round
robin in 2001. At the
U of H Round Robin, she had added a drop ball and some other movement pitches to
her list of pitches. I radared Megan Gibson throwing 61 mph at the 2001 Houston
Metro. Amanda and Megan are not only pitchers but home run hitters. At 16U
Colorado in 2001, they
combined to hit 8 homeruns out and win the 16U Tournament. Amanda pitches for
Magnolia High School and Texas Storm Gold. Megan pitches for Spring High
School and Impact Gold.
Hillary Dawson pitches for Klein High
School and the Texas Eclipse Gold. Hillary throws her fastball between 61
and 64 mph. She has a curve, screw ball, drop and is working hard on improving
her change-up and rise ball.
Amy Varner is another junior pitcher to keep tabs on. Amy is
5'9" and College Sports
Exposure radared her fastball at 61 mph routinely during her filming session. Most
players tighten up when radar during their filming session and throw 1 or 2 mph
harder in a game. She has a tight spin on her rise ball. Amy has a good
change-up, screwball and curve ball. She is working on her drop.
Amy's 3 best pitches are the rise, screw ball and fastball. She pitches
for Cy-Fair High School Bob Cats and the Texas Peppers. She also is a talented
power hitter.
Regan Blake transferred from Episcopal to Elkins High School this past
year. Regan lives
in Missouri City and was getting tired of the long drive into Houston. Regan is
primarily a riseball pitcher. She throws her rise ball between 57 and 59
mph. She also has a very good
off-speed pitch.
Ashley Campbell
is a 6' 1" pitcher at Crosby High School and for the Texas Panthers.
College Sports Exposure radar Ashley throwing her fastball at 59 mph with
a lot of 58 mph pitches. Ashley also had a very good curve ball.
Ashley hit 3 homeruns over the fence when we filmed her video.
On highway 59 north of Kingwood, Stevi Nelson pitches for Livingston High
School. Stevi is a 5'7" pitcher with a very good screw ball, curve
ball and rise ball. She also has a fastball, change-up and turn-over
drop. Stevi was the 19-4A All-District Newcomer of the Year in 2002 and
MVP on the Livingston High School team. She pitches for the Sting in
Spring, Texas.
Amanda Scarborough is not the only great 2004 pitching prospect on the Texas
Storm. Barbie Love from Alvin High School is the another great
prospect. Barbie is about 6' tall and also throws in the 60's.
Spring-Klein Sliders have two 6' pitchers that throw in the 60's. They are
Kimberly Hair and Shayla Andreas. Kimberly pitches for Cy-Creek High
School. Kimberly also has a change-up, screwball and drop ball in addition
to her fastball. She also plays volleyball but her dad has indicated that she
prefers to pitch in college. Montana Patin is scheduled to moved from the outfield and catch
Kimberly during the upcoming high school season. Shayla attends El Campo High
School. Corrie Bram is another El Campo pitcher to keep your eye on.
The well in West Texas is not dry! It is still producing pitchers! The University of Texas at Austin signed Christina Gwyn this fall as a pitcher
from the Fort Worth-Dallas area. She originally moved there from Big
Springs, Texas. Danielle Jennette
and
Nicole Dickson have quickly filled any void that may have been left by Gywn's
move. Danielle and Nicole both pitch for the 18U Odessa Sting. Danielle
pitches for Odessa High School. When College Sports Exposure filmed Danielle in
early Fall, her fastball was radared at 62 mph. It is reported that she
routinely throws 65 mph. Nicole Dickson pitches for Monahans High School. Nicole
throws between 58 and 61 mph. She also has command of a great change and drop.
One of the best drop ball pitchers in Texas is
5'9" Jessica Sander of Georgetown, Texas. Jessica pitches for Austin Storm.
She has an excellent peel drop, drop-curve and screw ball. Jessica also
throws a riseball and change-up. Her drop has been radared at 60 mph.
Amye McElroy pitches for St. Paul High School in Shiner and the Texas
Comets 18U Gold out of Liberty Hill, Texas. Amye has a very good curve
ball. Her other pitches include a 56-60 mph fastball, change-up, drop and rise.
Amye was selected to the 2A Tapps All-State team in 2001 and 2002. Amye is
also an excellent power hitter. When I filmed her video, Amye hit about 7
homeruns out of the new Shiner softball field.
Other pitchers to watch are Macie
Astolfo, Kaye Wibbenmeyer
and Lauren Perk. Macie and Kaye seldom throw a fastball. They both primarily rely on their
curve ball, screw ball, drop ball, rise ball and change-up to keep batters off
balance. Both have excellent control
of all of their pitches. Kaye's instructor is Bobby Smith. As a
sophomore, Kaye was 1st team
28-5A All-District pitcher at Victoria Memorial High School. She will
pitch for the TAPPS 5-A Saint Joseph's in Victoria this spring. Her travel
team is the Victoria's Secret.
 A 2006 (freshman) pitcher to watch this year and
remember is Jessie Patrick. Jessie played this fall with the 18U Sugar Land
Outlaws and will pitch for Clements High School this spring. Jessie will team
with senior Cheri Wood making Clements a pre-season candidate for the 5A State
Tournament in 2003. Jessie has one of the best rise balls I have seen
since the Class of 2000 graduated. She throws it at 59 to 60 mph. She also
throws it low enough in the strike zone where the batter has to swing to protect
the plate. Jessie also a peel drop, screw ball and change-up. She
mixes her pitches and hits her spots like a veteran pitcher.
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