College softball: OC makes pitch for region title

Howard coach Kelly Raines is hoping that her team is using this year's performance against the Odessa College as motivation.

OC coach Joel Prickett hopes his team looks at the results of the six games against Howard in Western Junior College Athletic Conference play and sees what can be done.

One will be proven right at 1 p.m. today in the second game of the NJCAA Region V-West softball tournament.

OC finished second in the conference, one game behind 17th-ranked Midland College, which will face Western Texas College at 11 a.m. in Game 1.

The first-round losers will meet at 3 p.m. in an elimination game, while the winners play at 5 p.m. to get into Sunday's championship game. The winner of the tournament advances to the NJCAA National Championships in Plant City, Fla., on May 15-17.

Odessa College (38-21 overall, 28-8 conference) swept all six conference games against Howard, and the Lady Wranglers swept doubleheaders against Howard twice in Big Spring.

"Howard is a very good team, and all the games were close for the most part," Prickett said. "Our team knows that they have to play at the top of their game in order to win because anything can happen at this tournament. I think we're ready, but we have to do it on the field."

Raines is fairly confident that OC will start pitcher Maritza Rocha, a left-hander who Raines calls "probably the best pitcher in the league." Rocha is 18-5 with a 1.52 ERA in 161 innings covering 30 games, including 25 starts.

Prickett also could call on Alpine graduate Hannah Dodson, Odessa High graduate Shanna Dees or Marissa Araujo in the circle.

Dodson finished the season with three wins in four games as OC swept a pair of doubleheaders from Frank Phillips. She is 10-5 with a 4.64 earned run average in 92 innings covering 25 games, including 13 starts.

Dees plays first base but recently has seen action in center field, a position where she played in high school. She is 7-6 with a 4.03 ERA in 67 2-3 innings covering 15 appearances, including 14 starts.

Araujo plays shortstop for OC when she is not pitching. She is 1-3 with a 4.89 ERA in 24 1-3 innings covering five games, including four starts.

Prickett, in his fourth year at OC, is looking for his starters to get Odessa College back to the national tournament for the third time in four years after missing last season.

"I'm confident in all of our pitchers," Prickett said. "They all bring something different to the mound and all are competitors, which is what you want.

"Rocha has been throwing as well as she ever has, and Dees and Dodson have split time in the second games this year and that's really helped Hannah at this stage of the season. They all know what to expect when they face Howard or Midland or Western Texas. They just have to get the job done."

Region V-West Tournament

At Ulmer Park, Freddie Ezell Complex, Midland

Saturday's Games
Game 1 - Midland College vs. Western Texas, 11 a.m.
Game 2 - Odessa College vs. Howard, 1 p.m.
Game 3 - Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 3 p.m.
Game 4 - Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 5 p.m.

Sunday's Games
Game 5 - Game 4 loser vs. Game 3 winner, 10 a.m.
Game 6 - Championship I, Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, Noon.
Game 7 - Championship II, Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 2 p.m., if necessary.