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DIVISION III NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS |
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May 17-21, 2001 Carson Park Eau Claire, Wis. |
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Final Score: Saint Mary's 4, Wheaton 0 The Highlights: Jennifer Meyer, SMU: 2-for-3 Brianna Shawah, Wheaton: 1-for-3
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| Saint Mary's |
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EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Nikki Fennern isn’t the only member of the Saint Mary’s University fastpitch softball team to come into this season with some rather large shoes to fill.
And while Fennern’s size eight Nikes have more than filled the void left by John Tschida’s departure following last year’s national-championship run — guiding the Cardinals to their second straight regional crown and a return engagement at this weekend’s NCAA Division III National Championships — freshman Lindsey Smith’s (Elma, Iowa) journey out of her sister’s shadow is just beginning.
Teisha Smith was the talk of the national tournament a year ago, as the then-senior pitched all but one inning — posting a perfect 7-0 record and a 1.17 ERA — in helping lead the Cardinals to their first-ever national crown.
And with the younger Smith arriving on the SMU campus just three months after Teisha threw her final pitch in an illustrious four-year career as a Cardinal, Lindsey was immediately tabbed, “Teisha’s younger sister.”
“It’s definitely a little tough trying to fill Teisha’s shoes,” admitted Smith, who makes the comparison between the sisters even harder to resist by wearing the same jersey No. 15 that Teisha wore during her time at SMU. “As a person and an athlete, you aren’t going to find anyone any better than Teisha. In a way, (trying to live up to her older sister’s lofty credentials) is kind of fun, too. After all, who better to be compared to than one of the best SMU has ever seen.”
With a stellar freshman season, however, Lindsey is quickly making the name Smith a household word all over again — and that shadow cast by her older sister is slowly disappearing.
“When Lindsey first came her, she was ‘Teisha’s little sister,’ no question about it,” admitted SMU coach Nikki Fennern, whose lone freshman starter — playing in her first-ever national tournament — drove in what proved to be the game-winning run with an RBI single in the second as the Cardinals opened defense of their national title with a 4-0 win over Wheaton Thursday evening. “But it sure didn’t take long for her to start make a name for herself.”
And while Teisha did most of her national-tournament talking with her pitching arm, Lindsey is doing it with her bat and glove.
With Jackie Huegel (Alta Vista, Iowa) on second and Niki Lynch (Winona, Minn.) on first in the bottom of the second, Smith battled Wheaton pitcher Jackie Demling to a 2-2 count, before lacing the fifth pitch of the at-bat into center field to score Huegel and give SMU a 1-0 lead.
A lead that Jennifer Gonerka made stand up with a two-hit, complete-game gem.
“That was a big at-bat for Lindsey,” said Fennern. “Playing in your first (national) tournament, to get a hit in your first at-bat had a great calming affect.”
“I wasn’t too nervous,” said Smith, although the devilish grin on her face said otherwise. “I just wanted to go out there and do the best I could. I got the pitch I wanted (in that second-inning at-bat) and just hit it hard. It was a great confidence-booster and it was nice because it got on the scoreboard early (in the game).”
It was also the kind of hit that would have made Teisha proud to say she was Lindsey’s older sister.