Published: June 18, 2008 10:43 pm            

EHS softball duo to play in All-Star Classic

Pitcher Tristan Dykes and catcher Anna Maddox formed Eastern’s battery for three seasons. They were teammates for a lot longer than that.

Saturday, they will walk onto the field together again, one last time, as part of the North squad in the Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association’s Softball All-Star Classic in Indianapolis. The annual North-South doubleheader will get started at 11 a.m. Saturday at Ben Davis High School.

“It’s nice to see them finish their careers in the North-South game because they’re two deserving ladies,” Eastern coach Jerry Haines said. The two were seniors this past season, helping the Comets to a 21-7 season.

It’s fitting that they’d suit up with the All-Stars together. The two have been a pitcher-catcher combo since elementary school and were already close friends before that.

“It’s pretty cool that Anna and I get to go together,” Dykes said. “We’ve been pitching together since we were real little.”

It was a twist of fate that put the friends on the diamond together, about 10 years ago.

“Tristan and I have been best friends since second grade I think,” Maddox said. “She got me started in softball. I went to one of her practices, just to hang out with her, and ended up playing.”

Maddox said that while she watched that day, Dykes’ pixie league coach Leroy Stout came up to her, put a mitt on her hand and got her started. By the next year, Dykes and Maddox were a battery. The partnership has grown into a well-oiled machine.

“I’ve been catching her for so long, since third grade. We just kind of know what one is thinking and go from there,” Maddox said. “We kind of look at each other and know what to do.”

Dykes said the trust between the two pays off on the diamond.

“We’re the ones who can see what the batter’s going to do, so we have to trust each other that I’m going to put the pitch where she wants me to put it and that she’s going to catch it,” Dykes said. “She has a lot of confidence in me and she goes out and plays 100 percent.”

Working as a unit helped Dykes post an ERA of 0.33 in the regular season over 191 innings. She fanned 281 batters while walking just 18.

“She can put the ball anywhere I want it,” Maddox said. “I never second guess her. I know if I call a pitch, that it’s going to be where I need it to be. That’s really big in pitching. I would rather a pitcher be able to place the ball than be fast. She’s a fast pitcher and she can place it.”

Dykes was 20-7 for the Comets this season. Maddox excelled when crouched behind the plate (she didn’t have an error on the season), and also shined when standing alongside it. The backstop led the Comets with a .494 batting average in the regular season. She had 43 hits including six doubles, a triple and a homer. She had 15 runs batted in.

“They’ve been our battery now for three years and they’ve combined for three 20-plus win seasons for us,” Haines said. “Over those three years their performance has been really steady.

“A good pitcher’s got to have a good catcher. Anna’s called all the pitches for Tristan as they’ve been together. They’ve gotten a lot smarter as the years have gone on.”

Maddox was bowled over by her selection for the All-Star Classic.

“Actually, I was very shocked,” Maddox said. “I didn’t think I was going to get it. I was very honored to get that and I was very appreciative to get that.”

Dykes was honored to be chosen and is on pins and needles about the event, which starts with a banquet Friday before Saturday’s games.

“I’m excited, but nervous,” she said. “You’re going down there and you’re playing with the best of the best.”

Wildkats honored

Kokomo junior pitcher and infielder Elizabeth Wagner was named to third team all-state recently and teammate Brittany Camp, a senior middle infielder, was named all-district.

Wagner hit .620 through the regular season with 13 doubles, five triples and two homers, and had an ERA of 0.37 in 76 innings.

“She’s improved all around this year,” Kat coach Lisa Tate said of Wagner. “Her ERA went way down below one. When she comes up to bat, the confidence a coach can feel in a player like that is such a good feeling because you know she’s going to come through for you.”

Camp hit .507 in the regular season with eight doubles, three triples and two homers. On defense she had just one error.

“Her on-base average [.588] was so good,” Tate said of Camp. “I could always count on Brittany Camp to get us on base in the first inning and Elizabeth Wagner to drive her around. [Defensively] I always know she’s going to be there every play when it’s her job. She always does her job and she does it so effortlessly and without complaint.”

        

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