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Christi Wise chooses Randolph Macon
- 30 May 2006
It didn't take long for Ephrata's Christin Wise to catch the eyes of Randolph-Macon Head Softball Coach Kevin Proffitt.While pitching with her summer team, the PA Mystics, at the harrisburg Showcase, Proffitt caught just a glimpse of the left-handed windmiller and that apparently was all he needed.
"He saw me pitch to like three batters and went up and told my dad that he wanted me to come to their school," Wise said recently.
That was enough to convince Wise and her parents that Randolph-Macon College, located in Ashland, Virginia, would be the place she would spend the next four years.
"It's such a gorgeous campus," Wise said of R-MC. "And they really have an up and coming program. They are a fairly new team but they are very good. They had a great record last year."
Randolph-Macon College softball was only in its ninth season of competition in the spring of 2006, and the Yellow Jackets achieved several milestones. R-MC set the program's record for wins in a season, with 17 victories, and at 17-17 had a .500 record for the first time ever. The Yellow Jackets also defeated Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) power Virginia Wesleyan for the first time in the history of the program.
Wise, who will major in criminology, accepted a a partial scholarship from the Division III School which competes in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. She said she was told her scholarship money will increase depending on the success she achieves.
"I was actually going to go to Clarion University but they did not have a good softball team the last two years," she explained. "They lost every game so that kind of changed my decision. I visited Albright before and I just didn't like the campus. It just didn't seem like it fit me."
Randolph-Macon appears to be the perfect fit for this late bloomer. Although she's played since she was little and "always dreamed of going to college to play," her game has only really taken off in the last few years, thanks to a private pitching coach named Dan DeMarco of Reading, who she has been working with since her sophomore season.
"I think I first realized I (could play in college) was when I started working with Dan," she said. "He's the one that made me become the way that i am. When I first started I didn't think I'd get anywhere out of high school, but Dan really taught me how to pitch."
After transferring to Ephrata from Warwick a season ago, she stepped right in and quickly became the ace of the Lady Mounts' staff. With a pitch repertoire that includes a fastball, changeup, drop ball, screwball, rise ball, a drop screw ball and her strikeout pitch, a drop curve, Wise dominated on the mound.
This past season, one in which she led the team to a District playoff berth, Wise was one of the better hurlers in the Lancaster-Lebanon League.
She struck out a whopping 132 batters in 111.2 innings while walking just 33. Overall, her record was 11-7 with an ERA of 2.07 in 19 games. She whiffed 11 batters in a 4-3 win over CV and notched 10 Ks in a 3-2 victory against Solanco. But her proudest moment may have been against her former team, when she allowed just four hits and struck out seven in a 2-1 win over the Lady Warriors.
Moving on to the next level, Wise knows she'll have to make some adjustments, both physically and mentally. Se wants to bulk up a bit but also must get used to the college mound which is 43 feet to home plate as opposed to 40 which is the standard in high school.
She doesn't see the latter as being too much of a problem.
"I've actually been working on that distance since the beginning of this year so I should be fine," Wise said. "I do need to be stronger because I'm so little. If I make a tiny mistake with my mechanics I'll slow down where like a bigger girl, it won't matter. To me, it makes a big difference so i definitely need to get a little stronger."
"I'm definitely looking forward to playing (in college)," she continued. "(Coach Proffitt) said there is a good chance I'll be used a lot next year so I can't wait to get going."
We here at www.ephratamounts.com are proud sponsors of the Dodgeball for Diabetes tournament.