NOVEMBER 12 UPDATE
COMMITMENTS/SIGNINGS
Katie McNamara, P,UT, Beach Girls, Southern Illinois
Heidi Eisenbeis-USA Gold - 2b-3b-OF signed with Saint Mary's (CA)
Mandy Pongs, P, OC Batbusters (H) to Wichita State
Natalie Cruz NJ Pride Gold committed, The College of the Holy Cross
Sarah Taylor, SS - San Jose Xtreme Gold signed San Jose
State University
Sam Ricketts, C/1B - San Jose Xtreme Gold signed Santa Clara University
Dani Hofer, P, Palm Harbor, FL, signed LSU
Jamie Piela, P/3B/OF, NJ Pride, signed Siena.
Ashlyn Watson C, 1B Gordon's Panthers committed to University of Washington
Jessica Kozlowski C/1B, BP All*Stars NY 18u, University of Delaware
Casey Fee , 2nd, BP All*Stars NY 18u, Hofstra University
Palm Beach Gardens Lady Gators Gold Team / Sam Testa
Aubrey Hayes - Pitcher - Indiana University (Hoosiers)
Amanda Skidmore - Shortstop - Troy State
Kim Kelly - Second - Troy State
2005 Impact Gold signees
Texas A&M University
Holly Ridley
Rhonda Smith
University of Texas
Kacie Gaskin
Krystal Saenz
Baylor University
Brette Reagan
Texas State University
Alex Newton
Division II Dominican College of New York.
Corey Heulitt (c-1b) - Jersey Girls
Jamie Ollari (of-1b) - Jersey Girls
Melanie Hestermann (if-of) - Jersey Ocean Waves
HALL OF FAME
Oregon softball coach Kathy Arendsen, who competed in three ISF world championships (1978, 1986, 1990) was inducted Thursday night into the International Softball Federation Hall of Fame. The honors ceremony was part of the annual ASA Hall of Fame banquet, held each year at the conclusion of the ASA Council meeting.
Arendsen, who coached at Yale and Mississippi State before
assuming the head coaching job at Oregon, a program which she has led to
contender status in the Pac 10, holds USA World Championship records for most
wins (11), ERA (0.00), no-hitters (4), and inningpitched (78) and is second in
strikeouts (81). 
Arendsen was inducted into the ASA Hall
of Fame in 1996. SPY profiled that 1978 world championship team in a recent
article, “Dream Teams of Yore.” Arendsen is one of 15 stars of the famed
Raybestos Brakettes (Stratford) to be enshrined in the ASA Hall of Fame. In
2005, another Brakette, Pat Dufficy, will be honored by ASA.
Inducted in the ASA portion of the ceremony were Metro Szeryk, Ed Lindsey, Emily Alexander, Bill Williams, AC Williams, Jeff Borror, and Ty Stofflet.
KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY
The Illinois Sharks provided some background on Lauren Lenti’s signing with DePaul: Her mother is married to Eugene's brother, Frank. Frank is the football coach at Mt Carmel HS in Chicago. They have won 14 state championships. He was voted the coach of the millenium. Sapp and McNabb played for him. Eugene' and Frank's sister is the AD at De Paul. Her name is Jeannie Lenti - Corzine. She is a big time, prominent NCAA stalwart! She married Dave Corzine, the former Bull. In Eugene's rise to the top at DePaul he had 8 of our Sharks as starters at one time, including Missy Nowak, the best hitter in the country.
EARLY COMMITMENTS
I have answered some of the emails; let this answer suffice. Such commitments are permitted, but, they are not binding on the school or the player. Moreover, the contact must be initiated by the player who can in fact come to the campus on an informal, unofficial visit. SPY continues to oppose the practice, and has written in opposition to the practice for at least three years. SPY believes the normal progression should be followed. Still, I know of instances where these non-binding commitments have later resulted in players signing with those schools.
MORE RISING STARS
(I WISH THESE TOURNAMENT DIRECTORS WOULD KEEP A LEADER BOARD. QUITE OBVIOUSLY, THE GIRLS WANT THEIR SCORES POSTED)
In the Rising Stars #10 bracket, the Pembroke Pines Bandits
had the following scores:
Sarasota Heat 18 - 0
Pembroke Pines 14 - 0
Bracket games
NJ Pride - 1
Pembroke Pines 14 - 2
SC Bandits - 1
Pembroke Pines 14 - 2
Clearwater Bullets - Weaver - 7
Pembroke Pines 14 - 0
NC Challengers - 2
Pembroke Pines 14 - 0
SPY ON THE ROAD
Johns Hopkins has removed three polyps, one large, all benign. Ergo, still cancer-free, I will cover the pre-Thanksgiving Batbuster and the NFCA convention. But, I must still undergo ulna transposition surgery on December 9. So, there will be periodic downtime during December and early January. I now have 57 stitches and can count every one of them each time I stand up. I have been invited to a White House Fellows Information Session, hosted by the Georgetown Public Policy Institute that night. Have declined.