Pitcher heads south

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Connie Ness can toss heat at 100 km/h, and the 18-year-old Edmonton softball pitcher's talents have been realized by a university south of the border. Ness, a 5'9'' right-hander has been signed to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as a serious prospect for the school's softball team.

In the states, collegiate softball is big. The Tennessee university just built a multi-million dollar, 5,000 seat softball stadium. The school's team, the Moccasins, has only been in the U.S. collegiate league for three years, but has managed to finish at the top of the southern conference in each of those years.

Moccasins coach Ralph Weekly can see the team finishing in the top 15 nationally.

Weekly said Ness is the first Canadian reruit to play for the Chattanooga team. He is excited at the prospect, but said despite her talents, Ness will need some training.

"She's not going to walk right in and be a star, but she has got the skills and she will be learning a lot in the first little while," said Weekly.

Ness was spotted when Weekly, who is the U.S. Olympic team's hitting coach, was in Edmonton for a softball clinic. A letter of reccommendation from Ness' current club team softball coach and a video of the pitcher in action were sent to Weekly after the clinic. The Chattanooga softball coaching staff liked what they saw. Ness was offered a scholarship and a spot on the team.

Ness knows her first season in Tennessee will be for training and learning. She looks forward to the opportunity, although she still has some youthful optimism.

"I guess I'll have to work hard. I mean they don't expect a freshmen to be the top pitcher - but who knows," she said.

She has been playing ball since she was five-years-old. She has been top pitcher at the Western Canadian finals two times, played in the Canada Summer Games and was a member of Canada's women's softball team.

For the next few months, until she graduates from W.P. Wagner High School in Edmonton, Ness will complete her entrance exams for the Tennessee university. She is expected to start there this Sept.

When she's not hitting the cathcer's mitt, Ness will be hitting the law books, setting her sights on criminal justice.