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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels April 30, 2004 Gillaspie showing her stuff By Jennifer Squires Ashland Daily Tidings Miranda Gillaspie jumps up and down, protesting the loss she and Carla Lillis just suffered playing "five short throws" during the Raider softball practice. "Rematch!" the 21-year-old top SOU pitcher called for. "Rematch!" Southern Oregon university junior pitcher Miranda Gillaspie hurls a pitch during the Raiders' practice, Thursday at University Field in Ashland. Gillaspie has been stellar for SOU this season. Satsuki Doi | Ashland Daily Tidings Lillis, her favorite catcher, had dropped the ball. It cost the pair a victory in the conditioning exercise that Gillaspie needed to rectify. "They don't win anything for this," explained first-year Raider head coach Larry Binney. "They're just competitive." Gillaspie and Lillis get their second chance, but this time the partners must stand two more steps apart. Gillaspie tries to sneak an early throw from a half-step in, but her opponents call her on it. When everyone is set up fairly, the race is on and, without bobbles or drops, Gillaspie and Lillis come out on top. "Yea!" Gillaspie cheers. "We won this time!" Although it's not the most important win the pitcher-catcher duo has put away in the half-decade they've played together, but they enjoy it nonetheless. A winning nature Gillaspie, a junior transfer from Clackamas Community College in Portland, came to SOU knowing she'd have to either get on top of her game or get out. "I was a transfer, so I felt like I had a certain job to do," Gillaspie said. "I had to adjust." Without the luxury of joining a team as a true freshman and working into a starting role, Gillaspie simply took control. "She's definitely our No. 1 pitcher," Binney said. "She was going to be our No. 1 pitcher and she's done a great job for us. This season, as the 21st-ranked Raiders' best bet from the mound, the right-handed Gillaspie has produced 17 wins in the 21 games she has pitched. Her tenacity as the field director for Southern has pushed the Raiders (31-9, 13-4 Cascade Conference) into a killer-fast tempo that not only challenges the opposing team, but Gillaspie's defense as well. "One of the things that makes her a good pitcher is she's so competitive," Binney said. "She takes a lot of pride in getting people out." Last weekend, Gillaspie ran though Game 1 against Western Baptist so quickly, the SOU coaching staff let her pitch Game 2 for the workout. She hadn't gotten to pitch enough during the 5-3 win. "She extremely competitive when she's pitching," Binney said. "When she's pitching, she works pretty fast. It seems like we play better defense then." Although she won't admit to glancing down at her watch during games to check out how fast she's going through the other team's line-up, Gillaspie always plays in sleeves so she can wear the time piece and a good-luck softball necklace she's had for years. "I just enjoy the game, especially because I'm a pitcher," Gillaspie said. "You can kind of control the game. It's definitely been my favorite since I was little." What she always wanted Like a lot of college stars, Gillaspie found her sport of choice as a youngster. "I knew from the time I was little that I wanted to play ball in college," she said. She and Marisa, her older sister, played tee-ball, made their way through Little League and into ASA softball before each played for Redmond High School. "When I was little, I would move up a level so my dad could coach both of us," Gillaspie said. "It was fun for both of us (girls). I think my dad enjoyed it." The girls split pitching duties for a long time, until Marisa eventually decided she was more comfortable as a third baseman and a catcher. Now, she's playing her senior season at Puget Sound University and the girls' parents continue to be the sisters biggest fans. "Last year was good because they could split the weekend," Gillaspie said, explaining that her parents could make it to a Clackamas game on Friday and a UPS game on Saturday. These days, it's not that easy. "Every weekend they're either there or here watching us play," she said. Considering what a stellar pitcher Gillaspie has developed into, it's tough to think her family wants to miss any of her performances. "She's got excellent control and is a very smart pitcher," Binney said. "She doesn't throw super hard but she changes it up." If there's one thing Gillaspie hasn't perfected yet, its not taking things too seriously. "Several times this season because Miranda's so competitive, she's been frustrated with an umpire's strike zone or herself and she's let it affect her composure," Binney explained. "But she's aware of that fault and is working on it." And as a senior in 2005, Gillaspie will be ready to do everything right. "Next year is my last year and I want to make everything of it," Gillaspie said. "There's not chance to look back and change things." Instead, she will look forward to a career as a high school health and physical education teacher and, of course, a softball coach. "I don't know what I will do [to keep playing]," Gillaspie said. "But I can't imagine not having it." Credit where credit is due Carla Lillis, the catcher Gillaspie has pitched to since they both were Intermountain Conference all-stars at Redmond high, gets a lot of credit for the pitcher's successes this year. "Carla calls an excellent game," Binney said. "That's been a real advantage for us in their first year at SOU." After their tenure at Redmond High expired with back-to-back state softball tournament appearances, Gillaspie and Lillis went on to CCC together. Gillaspie earned all-star status; Lillis was the team MVP. Then they came to Southern. "It's nice," Gillaspie said. "We made our decisions on our own, but I enjoy throwing to the same person." The connection Gillaspie and Lillis share is only enhanced by the team camaraderie the Raiders have enjoyed this season. "Our team gets along really well," Gillaspie said. "We're strong at every position and we're strong all the way through." Because of this, Gillaspie sees no reason why the team won't repeat as Cascade Conference champions and go on to compete for the regional title. "We have four league games left and I really feel like we should win them all," Gillaspie said. Going into a noon doubleheader on Saturday against Eastern Oregon University (20-13, 11-8), the first league foe to deal the Raiders a loss, Southern is ready to show the Mountaineers a thing or two. "We just need to play well," Binney said, noting EOU has won eight of its last nine games. "They're really solid but we're better than them." DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams