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Do IT this week: Layering
By Michael Beaven
Special to the Beacon Journal
POSTED: 07:46 p.m. EDT, Jun 09, 2009
The Racers open the home portion of their schedule at 7:05 Wednesday at Akron's Firestone Stadium with a mixture of veteran and rookie players on the roster.
Five players — Angela Tincher, Jessica Toocheck, Kristen Butler, Jamee Juarez and Kate Robinson — return from last season and two former Racers players — Crystl Bustos and Jenny Topping — are back after competing for the U.S. National Team.
''It's very exciting, especially going into this season with a talented team,'' said Toocheck, 23, a second-year shortstop and a graduate of Medina High School and Kent State University. ''It will be exciting to be on a team that has so much talent and the potential to be great. I think it's great to see we have so many players that offer a lot of parts of the game.
''We have some power hitters and we have a slapper like Kenora [Posey]. We have a strong pitching staff. It seems like the team chemistry is also very good.''
Toocheck, an online teacher who specializes in special education for Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, will be the shortstop this season after playing second base, shortstop, third base, left field and right field last season.
''We are expecting her to step into the shortstop position,'' Racers President/General Manager Joey Arrietta said. ''We're going to give her a shot. She has looked absolutely fabulous at practice.''
The Racers compiled a 19-29 regular-season record last season, which placed them fifth in the standings. The Chicago Bandits were the 2008 regular-season and tournament champions.
''Last year, we didn't end on a high note,'' Toocheck said. ''Coming into this year, there are new expectations, new goals and hopefully better results.''
Barb Sherwood is in her first season as manager and former Racers pitcher Radara McHugh is in her first season as the pitching coach. Sherwood replaces Shonda Stanton, who chose not to return so she could spend more time with her husband and two children. Stanton is the coach at Marshall University.
''It was getting difficult for her with her family,'' Arrietta said. ''It was becoming too time consuming. I understand.''
The Racers posted a 2-3 record to start this National Pro Fastpitch season at Rockford against the Thunder. The Racers had just 12 players in uniform for the series because seven players had to fulfill commitments to play for their other pro team in Japan or college team in the USA.
Arrietta is hopeful to have the full roster for this weekend's series against the Thunder. Tincher, Butler and Topping have been playing in Japan and 2009 NPF draft picks Kaitlin Cochran (Arizona State), D.J. Mathis (Oklahoma), Micaela Minner (Missouri) and Sari-Jane Jenkins (Oregon) were completing their collegiate careers.
''They are very key components to this team,'' Bustos said. ''We definitely have a very talented staff. We're going to be really strong and a force to reckoned with. The team has a lot to offer.
''We have got some speed, some great contact hitters, and some power hitters. I feel we're as strong as any of the best teams in the world. From 3-to-9 [in the batting order], we will be strong as far as power and the 1-2 hitters will offer speed.''
Tincher returns for her second season as the ace of the Racers pitching staff after a dominating career at Virginia Tech. Juarez, Robinson, Mathis, Lisa Norris, Kasey Reis and rookie Brittany Weil (Iowa) will also contribute in the pitching circle.
''The thing that intrigues me about our pitchers is the differences,'' Arrietta said. ''None of them have the same go-to pitch. What I tried to do was load up on pitching and make sure the pitchers have something different to offer to keep all these great hitters in the NPF in check.''
Butler and Topping will get the majority of time at catcher, and Kelsey Hoffman will also get time behind the plate. Tincher and Hoffman were a battery at Virginia Tech.
Toocheck, Robinson, Bustos, Posey, Jackie Pasquerella and rookie Samantha Ricketts (Oklahoma) will play in the infield. Pasquerella, a free-agent acquisition, leads the Racers in batting average (.500) and hits (8-for-16). Robinson and Bustos each have five RBI.
Lisa Modglin, a free-agent signee, will lead a young Racers outfield that also features rookies Cochran, Minner and Jenkins.
Bustos, 31, and Topping, 29, were key players for the Racers' 2005 team that won the NPF title.
Bustos helped to guide the USA Olympic Team to a gold medal in 2000 and 2004, and a silver medal in 2008. Topping was a member of the 2004 and 2008 USA Olympic Teams.
''I think we have got all the potential to win another title,'' Bustos said. ''The one thing that is hard about our league is we have a lot of players coming out of college that need to get pro experience.
''Every game is very critical the way the league is assembled.''
The Racers will host the 2009 NPF Championship Series at Firestone Stadium Aug. 20-23.
The Racers open the home portion of their schedule at 7:05 Wednesday at Akron's Firestone Stadium with a mixture of veteran and rookie players on the roster.
Five players — Angela Tincher, Jessica Toocheck, Kristen Butler, Jamee Juarez and Kate Robinson — return from last season and two former Racers players — Crystl Bustos and Jenny Topping — are back after competing for the U.S. National Team.
''It's very exciting, especially going into this season with a talented team,'' said Toocheck, 23, a second-year shortstop and a graduate of Medina High School and Kent State University. ''It will be exciting to be on a team that has so much talent and the potential to be great. I think it's great to see we have so many players that offer a lot of parts of the game.
''We have some power hitters and we have a slapper like Kenora [Posey]. We have a strong pitching staff. It seems like the team chemistry is also very good.''
Toocheck, an online teacher who specializes in special education for Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, will be the shortstop this season after playing second base, shortstop, third base, left field and right field last season.
''We are expecting her to step into the shortstop position,'' Racers President/General Manager Joey Arrietta said. ''We're going to give her a shot. She has looked absolutely fabulous at practice.''
The Racers compiled a 19-29 regular-season record last season, which placed them fifth in the standings. The Chicago Bandits were the 2008 regular-season and tournament champions.
''Last year, we didn't end on a high note,'' Toocheck said. ''Coming into this year, there are new expectations, new goals and hopefully better results.''
Barb Sherwood is in her first season as manager and former Racers pitcher Radara McHugh is in her first season as the pitching coach. Sherwood replaces Shonda Stanton, who chose not to return so she could spend more time with her husband and two children. Stanton is the coach at Marshall University.
''It was getting difficult for her with her family,'' Arrietta said. ''It was becoming too time consuming. I understand.''
The Racers posted a 2-3 record to start this National Pro Fastpitch season at Rockford against the Thunder. The Racers had just 12 players in uniform for the series because seven players had to fulfill commitments to play for their other pro team in Japan or college team in the USA.
Arrietta is hopeful to have the full roster for this weekend's series against the Thunder. Tincher, Butler and Topping have been playing in Japan and 2009 NPF draft picks Kaitlin Cochran (Arizona State), D.J. Mathis (Oklahoma), Micaela Minner (Missouri) and Sari-Jane Jenkins (Oregon) were completing their collegiate careers.
''They are very key components to this team,'' Bustos said. ''We definitely have a very talented staff. We're going to be really strong and a force to reckoned with. The team has a lot to offer.
''We have got some speed, some great contact hitters, and some power hitters. I feel we're as strong as any of the best teams in the world. From 3-to-9 [in the batting order], we will be strong as far as power and the 1-2 hitters will offer speed.''
Tincher returns for her second season as the ace of the Racers pitching staff after a dominating career at Virginia Tech. Juarez, Robinson, Mathis, Lisa Norris, Kasey Reis and rookie Brittany Weil (Iowa) will also contribute in the pitching circle.
''The thing that intrigues me about our pitchers is the differences,'' Arrietta said. ''None of them have the same go-to pitch. What I tried to do was load up on pitching and make sure the pitchers have something different to offer to keep all these great hitters in the NPF in check.''
Butler and Topping will get the majority of time at catcher, and Kelsey Hoffman will also get time behind the plate. Tincher and Hoffman were a battery at Virginia Tech.
Toocheck, Robinson, Bustos, Posey, Jackie Pasquerella and rookie Samantha Ricketts (Oklahoma) will play in the infield. Pasquerella, a free-agent acquisition, leads the Racers in batting average (.500) and hits (8-for-16). Robinson and Bustos each have five RBI.
Lisa Modglin, a free-agent signee, will lead a young Racers outfield that also features rookies Cochran, Minner and Jenkins.
Bustos, 31, and Topping, 29, were key players for the Racers' 2005 team that won the NPF title.
Bustos helped to guide the USA Olympic Team to a gold medal in 2000 and 2004, and a silver medal in 2008. Topping was a member of the 2004 and 2008 USA Olympic Teams.
''I think we have got all the potential to win another title,'' Bustos said. ''The one thing that is hard about our league is we have a lot of players coming out of college that need to get pro experience.
''Every game is very critical the way the league is assembled.''
The Racers will host the 2009 NPF Championship Series at Firestone Stadium Aug. 20-23.
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Canton, OH
Posted 09:28 PM, 06/09/2009
SWEET. . .
