Most everyone knows that when you have two aces you don't keep one and throw the other one back on the table.
So it is with Mitty softball coach Brian Yocke who has the luxury of having seniors Desiree Severance and Stephanie Kristo on his pitching staff.
Severance was the WCAL pitcher of the year as a sophomore. Kristo, as a junior, led Mitty to a CCS title with her excellence in the circle after Severance went down with an arm injury (Severance still made a big impact at first base and at the plate).
Entering the final week of the CCS post-season, Yocke has settled on an unconventional strategy. He starts Severance and pitches her for three innings, then he brings in Kristo to finish the game. Either one could pitch an extra inning or an inning less if the situation warranted it. This is in contrast to earlier in the season when the pair usually alternated starts.
Why the unusual new tactic?
"We have two great pitchers who are seniors and they've earned the opportunity to both pitch in the most important games of the year," said Yocke who will become the Mitty baseball coach after this season. "Both have done a lot for Mitty softball and both deserve to have their stamp on all of these games."
Added Yocke: "They've responded fantastically because they're unbelievable people."
Hmmmm ... so does that mean Kristo is yelling "pressure" from the dugout when Severance is in the circle with the bases loaded and a 3-2 count? And Severance is screaming "Don't blow it, Steph" from first base when Kristo is in mid-delivery?
No chance, says Severance, who will take her softball talents next year to Drexel University (Kristo will play at Manhattan College).
"I think it's an awesome strategy," Severance said. "It's great because by the third or fourth inning, the hitters have seen me once or twice and can make adjustments, but since he puts in Stephanie, it leaves the hitters completely off balance.
"It's perfect because me and Steph are pretty much polar opposites -- I throw mostly my screwball and rise, and Steph gets hitters with her awesome curve ball and deadly change."
But what about the interaction between the players? Do they only just tolerate each other, like dueling 49ers' quarterbacks Joe Montana and Steve Young back in the day?
"Stephanie and I get along awesome," Severance said. "We know that have each other's backs in any situation on or off the field, and we've grown tighter as friends and have meshed well as a pitching staff, rather than just one ace."
There's not much to choose between the two. Kristo is 12-3 with a 0.95 earned run average. Severance is 13-0 with a 1.24 ERA. Opponents are hitting .225 against Severance and .178 against Kristo.
A bonus for Severance is she plays first base when not pitching and is hitting .338 with nine extra base hits and 26 RBI.
It's all worked pretty well so far for Mitty (25-3), champions of the WCAL. But on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at PAL Stadium there will be another ace in the circle -- Hillsdale junior pitcher Eryn McCoy who is 15-4 with a 1.42 ERA and has struck out 145 batters in 128 innings for the Knights (20-8).
We'll see what Yocke has up his sleeve for that one.
ERVIN BACK AS CALISTOGA COACH: Mike Ervin, 71, is returning as the football coach at Calistoga High, said school secretary Toni Weems.
Ervin, a 1962 Chico High grad, coached the Wildcats for five years, inheriting a weak program and transforming it into one that made the playoffs multiple times. His overall record was 26-26. He vacated the position in 2011, giving way to Paul Harrell.
The Wildcats went 2-8 last season under Harrell and 16-25 during Harrell's four-year stint as coach.
In the fall Calistoga will join the NCL III, an eight-man league with Anderson Valley, Mendocino, Potter Valley, Point Arena, Rincon Valley Christian, Laytonville, Round Valley, Tomales and Upper Lake.
“I went to this school and I want the kids to be successful,” said Ervin. “Things had gotten pretty bad by the first time I took over. They had lost nine games the year before and six were by forfeit because of ineligible players. Last year 14 kids were ineligible and they had to do away with JVs and the roster was down to 14 or 15.”
Ervin has 43 players signed up for next season, he said.
EX-COACH PLEADS NO CONTEST
Former El Camino High football coach Mark Avery Turner pleaded no contest Thursday to one count of a felony lewd act on a 15-year-old child by a person more than 10 years older, reported Bay City News.
Turner, 42, made the plea so that he would not receive state prison time and would get no more than 120 days in jail, the news service reported. Turner's charge could be reduced to a misdemeanor halfway through his probation but he must register as a sex offender.
Turner's sentencing will be at 8:30 a.m. July 15.
Briefly: Valley Christian football star Morian Walker was offered by Wyoming last week, he tweeted ... Sacred Heart Prep baseball standout Andrew Daschbach has committed to Stanford, he said ... Ralph Dangerfield is the new Berkeley girls' basketball coach according to the school website ... Peter Diepenbrock has returned as the Palo Alto basketball coach according to multiple reports.
John Murphy is the Web Content Manager of Prep2Prep. He may be reached at jmurphy@prep2prep.com. Follow him on Twitter @PrepCat
