Softball Inks Four Recruits

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Nov. 15, 1999

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – University of Virginia head softball coach CherylSprangel has announced that four players have signed national letters ofintent to attend Virginia and play softball for the Cavaliers. The fourstudent-athletes, who are all from the West Coast, will enroll at Virginiafor the 2000-01 academic year. The four recruits are: pitcher JoannaBarstad (Canby, Ore./Canby), pitcher Jessica Edwards (Santa Ana,Calif./Orange Lutheran), shortstop Hannah Owings (Issaquah, Wash./Liberty),and infielder Tracy Sherman (San Clemente, Calif./Saint Margaret’sEpiscopal).

Barstad is a 5-9 pitcher from Canby, Oregon. She is a two-time first teamAll-League selection as a pitcher and a three-year letterwinner. As ajunior in 1999, Barstad was 13-6 with a 1.28 earned run average and struckout 133 batters. She also hit .316 with a .408 slugging percentage. Inaddition to pitching, Barstad plays the outfield and first base. As asophomore, she compiled a 16-6 record with a 1.34 ERA, and as a freshmanwas 18-4 with a 1.30 ERA. In Amateur Softball Association (ASA)competition, Barstad in a two-year performer for the Oregon Panthers U-18team and also played for the U-16 Red Heat for three seasons.

“We are very excited to have Joanna join our program,” said Sprangel. “Sheis a terrific all-round player and will get even better. She has thepotential to add to the team in several positions. I really like hercompetitiveness – she is the type of pitcher that always wants the ball,”Sprangel stated.

Edwards, 5-10, is from Santa Ana Calif. The pitcher/first baseman was afirst team All-Olympic League selection in 1998 and 1999. She also earnedAll CIF-Division V honors the same two years and was a second teamAll-County pick in 1999. Edwards, a member of the National Honor Society,was also named to the California state small schools All-State team and wasan Orange County second team pick. Edwards, a team captain, helped leadOrange Lutheran to the 1999 Olympic League Championship and to thesemifinals of the Division V CIF playoffs. The team was also Division VCIF runners-up in 1998. As a junior, Edwards posted a 14-6 record with a0.23 ERA and stuck out 216 batters in 131 innings. She pitched a perfectgame and had three no-hitters in 1999. In 1998, she pitched three perfectgames and five no-hitters en route to a 13-7 record and a 0.76 ERA. In 133innings, Edwards chalked up 244 strikeouts. In ASA competition, Edwardshelped lead the Orange County Batbusters (Davis) to a seventh place finishat the 1999 ASA Gold Nationals.

“Jessica was one of our top recruits all along and we are glad she isbringing her talents to Charlottesville,” commented Sprangel. “She is oneof the top 10 pitchers in the nation. Jessica is a very good pitcher now,but has the ability to get even better. We are looking forward to helpingher develop more fully. Jessica is the type of player that will help leadus into the top 25 of the country.,” Sprangel said.

Owings, is a 5-11, shortstop from Issaquah, Wash. In addition to playingsoftball, Owings earned varsity letters in basketball and volleyball andgarnered All-League honors in all three sports for Liberty High School. In1999, she was an All-Eastside pick as a shortstop and was a second teamAll-King County selection. As a sophomore in 1998, Owings was a KingCounty first team pick after batting .469 with 22 RBI and a .522 on basepercentage. Last year, she batted .377 with a .495 on base percentage.During the summer of 1999, Owings played for the Mukilteo Maddness, theU-18 AFA National Champions.

“The things that impress me about Hannah are her total strength andpotential,” stated Sprangel. “She has quite a bit of raw ability,particularly as a power hitter, and will continue to improve. Hannah willalso give us some versatility in the infield. She is a very goodshortstop, but can play several other positions as well,” she said.

Sherman is a 5-5 third baseman/second baseman from San Clemente, Calif.She is a first team All-League pick for Saint Margaret’s Episcopal in 1999and was also team captain and Most Valuable Player. As a starter lastseason, Sherman batted .433 with three triples and four home runs. She hadan on-base percentage of .600 and led the team in runs scored and RBIs. Atthe ASA Gold Nationals in 1999, Sherman batted .500 for the U-18 StealthGold. In the summer of 1998, Sherman helped lead the Orange CountyAthletics to a ninth-place finish at the ASA 18 Gold Nationals. In 1997,the Orange County Athletics finished fifth in the ASA U-16 Nationals.

“We are thrilled to have Tracy as a member of our team. Her biggest assetis her hitting ability. Hitting is an area that we need to improve andTracy will undoubtedly help us quite a bit. We are graduating a thirdbaseman and she is very capable of filling that role,” commented Sprangel.

“Overall, this is definitely one of our strongest recruiting classes interms of quality and quantity. All four of the players will help bring theVirginia softball program to the next level,” Sprangel said.

Virginia finished the 1999 season with a 35-26 overall record. TheCavaliers also advanced to the finals of the ACC Championship for thesecond-consecutive year. During the 1999 fall season, UVa posted a 10-1record. Virginia opens 2000 season on February 17, when plays UNLV andPortland State in single games in Las Vegas.