U.S. National softball team in town

BY LEE SCHEIDE
lscheide@oaoa.com

Midland College softball coach Tommy Ramos was just an interested bystander when Freddie Ezell mentioned the possibility of bringing the U.S. National Softball Team to the Permian Basin for an exhibition game.

"I thought it was a great idea," Ramos said. "It's great exposure for the area and all the great talent that we have."

Ezell then turned to Ramos and made the game much more personal.

"He said that he wanted me to put a team together," Ramos added. "That was unexpected and a great honor."

Ramos' squad of collegiate players from around Texas will host Team USA Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Citibank Ballpark, the home of the Midland RockHounds. Team USA is touring the country as it prepares for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

A full house is expected. RockHounds officials said that only grass berm seating was still available, because more than 6,000 tickets have already been sold.

Ramos searched near and far for his team, but he chose several local players to compliment the other talent on the team.

Maritza Martinez and Colleen Kimbro of Midland are on the team, as are Raquel Hawkins of Monahans and Stephanie Herrera of Pecos. Just three players - Marissa Gonzales of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., Nina Cabrales of Corona, Calif., and Danielle Rodriguez of Tucson, Ariz. - are from outside the state of Texas, and Cabrales played for Ramos this season at Midland College.

"It's funny, because when people found out I was putting the team together, I had calls from all over the country," Ramos said. "I had to explain to everyone that we were looking for college upperclassmen, because we had a lot of high school coaches and players calling.

"I think we've put a great team together and we are going to go out and have some fun because that's a pretty formidable team we are playing against."

To date, the national team is 49-1 on the tour. Pitcher Monica Abbott threw a no-hitter and struck out 15 in a 20-0 rout of the Mid-American Conference team in Ashland, Ohio, on Monday. The team played in Killeen on Wednesday.

Luckily, the ASA Texas All-Stars won't see Abbott in the circle on Friday. Instead, they get to see one of the most dominant left-handers in Team USA history, Cat Osterman.

"I'm excited about coming to that area of Texas," said Osterman, who grew up in Houston before playing at the University of Texas. "We didn't get to that part of the state during the last tour and being from Texas, I'm happy to be coming back.

"We're almost done with the tour and it's really been a lot of fun getting to see all the fans around the country and at the same time get ready for the Olympics."

Squaring off against Osterman will be Gonzales, who recently pitched Lubbock Christian University to its first NAIA National Championship.

Hawkins was also a member of that team and earned second-team All-American honors for the Lady Chaps.

Ramos has eight players on the team that have faced the national team before, so they know what to expect.

"This is the best team in the world that we are going to be playing and all of our girls are competitors, so I'm sure they want to have a good showing," Ramos said. "We know the caliber of athletes that are on the other side, but we are going to compete."