Thursday, April 28, 2011
On the Mark
Page 14
Sports
Senior Profile: Pirzl, siding with old foes By Shannon Boyer
was a wakeup call, saying welcome to college softball.” Since second grade, Kelly Pirzl Pirzl adjusted with has been playing softball. Her the help of her previous father, who coached her all the teammates at Pine Manway through middle school, was or College. They let her a big influence on her, along know when she wasn’t with watching USA player Jen- doing something right ny Finch. in her hitting and when Kelly, now a senior, said a lot she made mistakes in has changed in her life. pitching, they made sure “My influence to play my last she corrected them and year of softball has been my fi- worked harder at it. She ancé,” she said. “He encouraged also spent extra hours in me to play and get back into the gym practicing her what I enjoy the most.” hitting and pitching on When Kelly was in the third her own. grade, her team needed a pitchShe also looked to Nier. She stepped up to the plate cole Vocaturo for help, and said she’d give it a try. From the starting pitcher for that point on she enjoyed pitch- her team at Pine Maning. She continued to pitch or. Vocaturo’s pitching through her four years of high techniques and attitude school at Wahconah Regional rubbed off on Pirzl. Voin Dalton. Her senior year she caturo taught her a lot made the All-Eagle team. about pitching, and her During high school, she spent strong and aggressive her summers playing on various attitude influenced Pirtravel teams. She received many zl to present herself in MVP awards and player of the similar ways. week, and won many tournaPirzl works hard in orments. der to play at her best. Before attending MCLA, And it shows in her perPirzl went to Pine Manor Col- formance on the field. lege where she was placed on She’s made many imthe GNAC 2nd All Conference provements through out Team as a freshman. her years of playing with She came into MCLA her ju- the help of coaches and Photo courtesy of Ian Grey nior year. Her decision to trans- teammates. Kelly Pirzl has a 3.90 ERA on the pitching mound and bats .192 from the fer had to do with the purchase MCLA’s Coach Ameen plate. of an apartment in Pittsfield. has impacted Pirzl’s MCLA was close to her new game. He’s helped her home and they had a softball with certain technique whenever she can. Pirzl also days. And like Coach Ameen team. issues that she struggles with helps coach the Dalton All-Star said, her focus is contagious to “There was a huge difference and also gave her the confi- team, where she can practice the rest of the team. in high school to college play, dence to hit. She says his heart hitting ground balls and base Off the field, Pirzl is a busiespecially pitching,” Pirzl said. and drive for the game carries running with them. She makes ness major with a concentration “I remember pitching one game along with the team and she ap- sure that there’s always time for in accounting. She is working in Florida, feeling pretty confi- preciates all he puts into coach- softball. It’s something that’s towards becoming a manager at dent, in the second inning I had ing. been a part of her life for a while her current job, Stop and Shop. two home runs hit off me. That Coach Ameen speaks very and she works hard to keep up If that plan doesn’t fall through, highly of the with her game. she plans on looking into insenior soft“The most important part ternships through different acball player. of the off season is to keep in counting businesses. “Kelly has shape, I try to keep myself busy Aside from her future plans been a criti- with running outside and lifting after graduation Pirzl would cal part of weights,” Pirzl said. like to stay involved in softball. our team this As far as this season goes, Pir- She plans on continuing to help year,” Ameen zl is quite pleased. She believes with the Dalton All-Star team said. “Her her leadership and confidence and play whenever she can. l e a d e r s h i p , gives the team the boost that College softball has taught intensity and they need. She’s sure that they Pirzl a lot and has helped her d e d i c a t i o n can finish with a record of .500 gain confidence in many difto her game or better and make the MAS- ferent areas. It has also brought is contagious CAS tournament. her new friendships and memo,and she does “Falling one run short of the ries that she won’t forget. e v e r y t h i n g NCAA’s my freshman year of “I will miss playing with my at full speed college at Pine Manor was dis- fellow high school competito challenge appointing,” Pirzl said. “I know tion, Megan, Jackie, Hadley, herself and what it takes to make it there and Amanda,” Pirzl said. “It was her team- and we defiantly have that.” awesome to play with them and mates to give On game days she stays fo- not against them.” e v e r y t h i n g cused and concentrates on what With the support of her teamthey can.” needs to be done to win the mates and family she hopes to Her dedica- game. On the bus Pirzl keeps to finish the season on top. She tion to the herself and relaxes. She rarely believes that her team has what game carries talks until game time to keep it takes to win a championship on in the off- her composure. and she’s going to work hard to Photo courtesy of Ian Grey season. She Her technique defiantly serves get them there. Kelly Pirzl gave up six hits and only two earned spends time a purpose to her and the team. runs though seven innings in her last start. at the gym Pirzl is never off track on game Special to the Beacon
By Mark Burridge Sports Columnist
Celtic Strong
Without getting any recognition for it, the Boston Celtics are the team to beat in the NBA right now. With the Lakers losing a second game to the Hornets and Kobe Bryant hobbling around with a sprained ankle, and the Heat and Bulls dropping game fours to the 76ers and Pacers, there remains only one team, and that team is about to get Shaq back. The Celtics played better and better in every game of the opening round series against the Knicks, solving their only perceivable issue in game 4, with the Bench contributing 25 points. The only issue that is brought up now is their lack of a big man, and with extra rest because of the Heat’s lost, it is safe to assume they should have the presence of a 7-foot-1, 325 pound monster during some of their second round series against in all likelihood, the Heat. So, why aren’t they getting this credit? To be fair, the Lakers are the defending champions (thanks to Joe Crawford, the ref that almost stole game two against the Knicks as well) and the Bulls had the best record in the NBA heading into the playoffs. The Heat are also for some reason put in this mix, even though they dropped a game against the 76ers where they had the lead with 1:32 left and missed a buzzer beater that would have won it, as well as losing three of four to the Celtics and all three to the Bulls in the regular season. The Celtics have a history of not being credited with the favoritism they deserve. Last year, many had them figured to lose in the second round to the hugely favored thenLeBron-led Cleveland Cavaliers. After they upset the Cavs, they were equally supposed to have met their match against the Orlando Magic. After beating them, it took a completely ridiculous Lakers referee advantage, (51 more free throws in the series, including 20 more in game seven, and 42 more over the last three games) for the Celtics to fall. So, will they be given their due this year? Unless if Joe Crawford referees three games in the Finals again this year, including the 37 to 17 Free Throw travesty of a game seven, I have to believe the odds are pretty good. Adding Shaq to the Big Three and Rondo is hard for any team to guard, but a team like Miami, who are shallow on the bench and Chicago who don’t have a player that can adequately handle O’Neal could propel the Celtics into the Finals. Where the biggest concern for them might not be the Lakers, but their old friend Kendrick Perkins and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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