Thayer and Fisher Softball Featured in D&C
Leo Roth , @leoroth
The DIII NCAAs are being held for a first time at ASA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium/OGE Energy Field, the mecca of softball and annual host for the Division I championships. Mance and her team won’t be overwhelmed by the national stage, having experienced it last year in Salem, Virginia.
But come on, it’s hard for them not to be excited.
“I’m expecting us to be ready to play,’’ Mance said. “The ‘wow’ factor is gone but it’s every little girl’s dream to play in Oklahoma City. That’s what they’ve seen on ESPN and on TV. It’s fulfilling a childhood dream.’’
When Mance took over for Fisher coaching legend Len Maiorani four seasons ago after serving 10 seasons as an assistant, she hunched this group of players had the talent to put the program, a consistent power in the Empire 8 and ECAC, on the national map.
The Cardinals had made plenty of NCAA Regionals but could never get past the semifinals. It would take a couple of “difference makers,’’ Mance said. More specifically, it would take finding a superstar pitcher.
Because, as everyone knows, like a goaltender in hockey or a quarterback in football, nobody makes a difference in softball like the lady in the circle.
“When I saw her, I go ‘Hey, you can be that difference-maker who gets us there,’ " said Mance, who first scouted Thayer at a travel team showcase in Binghamton before her high school senior year. “Regardless of where she went, Lindsey would be successful, but I told her, ‘You could turn this program into a national power.’ And she has. She has helped us do that.’’
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