Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Rising to the occasion
5/16/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 16, 2002
by Ted Hutton
Sun Sentinel
It was the middle of the evening of March 29, and University of Central Florida softball coach Renee Gillispie was feeling pretty good as she sat in the visitor's dugout at Florida Atlantic's stadium.
Her team had just beaten FAU 3-0 in the first game of an Atlantic Sun Conference doubleheader, an upset road iwn over the nationally ranked Owls.
But Gillispie, in her inaugural season as UCF coach, was about to see FAU pitcher Nikki Myers for the first time in the second game, and that good feeling would disappear as quickly as one of Myers' fastballs took to reach the catcher.
"I'd heard all about her," Gillispie said," and everything I'd been told turned out to be true."
The Golden Knights struck out 17 times and managed on hit in a 6-0 loss as Myers shut them down.
"It was a long game for us," Gillispie said. "I can't tell you how good she was that night."
Gillispie saw only part of Myers' ability, since she and an off night at the plate. Most teams have to face her wide array of nasty pitches at bat, then try and keep her off the bases when they are on the field. Few teams have been able to do both.
The right-hander is 35-6 this season, leads the nation in wins and has moved into third on the NCAA career-strikeout list with 1,356.
She also leads the Owl (60-11) in hitting with a .374 average, 12 home runs and 40 RBI.
Myers won her third straight conference Player of the Year title and was named conference tournament MVP for the fourth time. She holds nearly every FAU single season anc career pitching and hitting record.
In her four years at FAU, the Owls have won the conference championship and gone to NCAA regionals four times.
What has eluded Myers is a spot in the Women's College World Series.
Myers and her teammates will try and earn that trip starting today in Tallahassee when they play Tennessee-Chattanooga in a first-round game of the regional.
"That would be sweet," said Myers, who is from St. Petersburg. "To make it to the World Series in my last year."
RAISING THE LEVEL
The riseball is a tough pitch to master, but those who can throw it possess on of the best weapons in softball.
The only parallel pitch in baseball is one thrown by a side-arm specialist, who lets the ball go from below his waist and has it end up chest-high when it crosses the plate.
A softball riseball curves skyward as it heads toward the plate, lifted by backspin applied when ti is released. "Nikki's got the best riseball," said Candice Freel, a freshman pitcher who is 25-5. Freel is a finesse pitcher who induces many groundouts, and lacks the speed and riser that create so many strikeouts for Myers.
I can't get that pitch for the life of me," Freel said. "But I need that pitch."
So each day she works on it, with Myers by her side.
"I try to help her and that helps me," Myers said. "Teaching somebody is the best way to learn."
Coach Joan Joyce said Myers' work with Freel is an example of what she means to the team aside from her stats.
"She is an inspiration to all the players," Joyce said. "She can do it all, but she has gotten there by working hard every day.
"She has made herself into a great player, and that raises the level of everyone else." At 5 feet 8 and with a slight build, Myers is not big by softball standards. She uses coordination and strength to hurl balls past batters when on the mound and launch them over the fence when at the plate.
What's large about Myers, Joyce said, and makes her a giant in the college softball world, is her will to win.
Aversion to Losing
Lynn coach Amy Alderman has first-hand experience against this year's FAU team, losing 11-0 to the Owls on April 25.
"Nikki has this intense competitiveness that she maintains in every game," said Alderman, who played at FAU. "If she's not perfect, she's not happy. You can just see that in the way she plays."
Joyce agreed.
"She doesn't like to lose," Joyce said. "She hates it. The only downside to Nikki is that she is so hard on herself. "She can let that affect her play."
Alderman said this is the best FAU team she has seen.
"They have all the weapons," she said. "Great pitching, good bats."
Myers, a pre-med student, still has another year of class work before she will graduate, so she will help with the team next year.
In addition to Freel, FAU has a couple of new pitchers joining the team next year.
"We'll take Nikki and use her to teach them her spins," Joyce said. "One more year with Nikki will make a big difference in how they perform."
"Yeah," Myers said about her role. "They won't be rid of me yet. I plan on coming around and making myself useful."
