How 'bout dem '97 Lassies of Spring!

I invite you to take a few minutes to rewind back a ways to one year shy of a decade. Go back, back, back to late spring, … and the wind-up of the Minor League season in the Franklin Township Girls' Softball program at the Wanamaker ball fields. A unique publication titled “Youth on the Diamond” documents in Issue No. 7 (dated June 16, 1997) the following account:

Paragraph One: VanDeman Builders handed Wagner Signs its lone loss of the regular season as pitcher Megan Russell notched 18 strikeouts.

Paragraph Two: Trailing by two runs, VanDeman was sparked by a lead-off double by Ellen Gilmer and Kristen Black's three-run triple.

Paragraph Three: Katie Gammon also doubled for the winners, while Kasey Petitt cracked a two-bagger among a pair of hits for Wagner.

Above that brief report was the game's line score, showing VanDeman Builders winning over the home team, Wagner Signs, 6-3 in six innings.

Now, you can fast-forward up to the present, although the following dissertation will reference some of those rather pert 1997 Lassies of Spring.

Researching some background information on Franklin Central High School softball phenom Megan Russell, in fact, is what led me back to a well-preserved set of “Youth on the Diamond” issues – all nine installments to Volume 1, and what turned out to be the lone volume of the publication.

Several things in the brief account reprinted above caught my attention.

** To the best of my knowledge, the game of softball, like baseball, requires three outs per inning to retire a side. In the six innings played between VanDeman Builders and Wagner Signs some nine years ago, the number of possible outs per side tallied up to 18. Therefore, the 18 strikeouts by Russell represent quite a remarkable feat! Observant Minor League followers back then likely considered that Megan had a bright future in the sport of fast-pitch softball.

** Another name in that early account also bridges the past and present. Kasey Petitt recently completed a stellar career at Shelbyville High School , and in mid-June joined Russell as a member of the South Squad for the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association's North-South All-Star series showcased at the Ben Davis Softball Complex.

** And, of course, I would be remiss if I didn't admit to a touch of nostalgia is seeing my own daughter's name (Ellen Gilmer) in that brief account from “way back.” Nothing like a self-serving trip down memory lane!

Franklin Township resident Mike Black is among those not at all surprised at the successful high school career of Russell. Mike was her coach on that VanDeman Builders team in 1997, and he has followed with interest Megan's career ever since she began playing at the Minor League level where young girls between the ages of 9-11 have their first opportunity to pitch fast-pitch softball.

“Megan, from the very first practice, was always very serious about her pitching,” Black recalls. “It was obvious she was going to be very good – you could just see it in her. She really impressed at a very early age.”

Megan's father, Dave Russell, was a coach on one of the Minor League's post-season All-Star teams in 1997. Black and John McNulty managed the team; Randell Phillips and Bob Rose guided the other All-Star contingent.

“Dave deserves a lot of credit for Megan's development as a pitcher over the years,” Black acknowledges. “Grooming her into one of the state's best pitchers has involved a lot of time and a lot of money. Dave really stayed the course – he saw to it that she had private pitching lessons over the years, and then, in addition to her playing ball in Franklin Township programs, he took her to play travel ball all over the state.”

The years of dedication and adherence to the three Ps – practice, patience and persistence – has provided Megan Russell with two another Ps – publicity and a payoff. Also, in mid-June, Megan was announced as the Marion County softball Player of the Year and a pitcher on the 2006 All-Marion County Softball first-team selections, in addition to being named to The Indianapolis Star's 2006 Softball Super Team. And this fall comes the ultimate payoff – she will be attending the University of Indianapolis on an athletic scholarship where her softball participation will help pay for her education.

For Megan Russell there were no shortcuts nor magic – she simply got what she wanted and earned what she was willing to work for – through years and years, months and months, innings and innings of desire, determination and dedication.

Now, before sticking those nine issues of “Youth on the Diamond” back in the file drawer, it is worth taking another look at those 1997 Lassies of Spring – about 120 players on the 10 teams that comprised the Minor League in the Franklin Township Girls' Softball program. What a talented group, as a whole!

Franklin Township resident Amber Wolf, another Minor League All-Star nine years ago, also teamed with Russell and Petitt on the most recent ICGSA South All-Star team. A Scecina High School product, Wolf was named to the 2006 All-City Softball first team. Kacy Kestner, another 1997 Minor League All-Star pick and a recent Decatur Central High School graduate, also played this June for the South All-Stars in the North-South Classic and was named to the 2006 All-Marion County Softball first team.

Lyndzie Phillips and Lindsey McNulty, two other 1997 Minor League All-Stars and both 2005 Franklin Central graduates, announced plans to play college softball following their prep careers. Phillips journeyed to Manhattan College in New York , where she was a starter at second base as a freshman. McNulty signed to play at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods near Terre Haute . Laurie Prendergast, another FC 2005 grad and a member of Black's VanDeman Builders team, was a freshman pitcher this past spring for Maryville University in St. Louis.

Erica Petitt, another young Minor League All-Star selection from the 1997 Lassies of Spring, was a junior starter on the 2006 Franklin Central softball team that captured the Marion County Tournament championship.

These are just a few of the promising players from nine years ago. Others – some just as talented on the softball diamond as many of those named – wound up choosing other pursuits, some by participating at a high level in other sports and some by excelling in other extracurricular endeavors.

But as a whole – as Mike Black is quick to point out – the collective softball talent from the 1997 Lassies of Spring doesn't come around that often. But when it does, it is fun to be able to look back and remember where it all started to blossom.

- FTONEWS.com -