The Times Free Press doesn’t make a policy of handing out player-of-the-year awards two weeks into a season. If we did, Ooltewah’s Holly Thomas would be crowned 2008 softball queen today.
The Lady Owls are off to an 8-0 start and fresh off winning the Gold Division in the Lady Trojan Invitational over the weekend. Twenty-eight teams from East and Middle Tennessee entered. Ooltewah defeated perrennial state power Goodpasture Christian from the Nashville area in Saturday’s final.
How valuable has Thomas been in the Lady Owls’ success so far? Perhaps the key question should be: In which capacity has Thomas been more valuable?
She pitched a shutout in the championship game. She also went 2-for-3 and singled in the game’s only run.
Thomas pitched a shutout in the semifinal against Siegel. Her late-inning double to the fence in left-center drove in the only run in that game.
Thomas went 3-for-3 with two home runs in Ooltewah’s first pool-play game. She also faced the opposition’s first nine batters and struck them all out before being relieved with the Lady Owls owning a big lead.
Before the tournament she was 2-0, including pitching Ooltewah’s 9-1 victory over senior-laden Mount Juliet, Class AAA state runner-up the last two seasons.
She has a pitching record of 6-0 with a microscopic ERA. Did we mention her two-run single was a highlight in an eight-run third inning against the Lady Bears?
“She does so many things well,” said Tennessee Tech coach Tory Acheson, who has signed Thomas for next year. “If anybody can dominate a game, it’s the one in the circle. When she’s got her game together, I can see that she would be very, very tough on a high school team.”
The right-handed fireballer’s developing of a curveball over the last year has broadened her arsenal and made her even more difficult for batters to solve. That has helped make her more relaxed and focused at the plate, and she’s tearing it up in that phase of the game, too.
“I think that just comes with time,” Thomas said of focusing separately on offense and defense. “It’s maturity over the years.”
When asked was it her bat or arm that impressed him most, Acheson said: “What’s really impressed me the most is the way she pushes herself. She has the desire to become a great player. There are some that are talented and capable of accomplishing great things, but they don’t have the same mental approach. You’ve got kids that might think what they’ve done up to a certain point is all they need to do. Not Holly. She always wants to find ways to continue to get better.”
Let’s recap. An undefeated team’s best pitcher is also its best hitter, and no teammate outworks her. Hmmm.
Thomas also confessed to bringing a hunger like never before into this season. It’s the last go-around for her and her classmates, and they want to go out with a state championship.
Thomas has already earned first-team all-city honors twice in her career. With the start she’s gotten off to this spring, the highest honor locally could await her at the end of the season.
Many considered Riverdale pitcher and Tennessee signee Cat Hosfield to be the state’s top player coming into the year. Regrettably for her and her Lady Warriors teammates, she broke an ankle in a game in Florida this past weekend and is out for the rest of the season. Thomas is likely now on a short list of those who could inherit the tag of the state’s best.
Unfortunately, things like what happened to Hosfield do occur. That’s why awards aren’t being handed out just yet.
Kelley Smiddie is a sports writer who has worked at the Times Free Press for 12 years. He covers high school sports and softball. Kelley’s hometown is Chattanooga, and he graduated from Brainerd High School and graduated Chattanooga State and UTC. Contact Kelley at 423-757-6653 or ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com.
