FINAL STATS
Now
Available
Orlando
vs Carolina
(Wahoos win 2-0)
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to league site
Photos by Active
Mind, Inc.
|
WAHOOS FINISH THE '98
SEASON IN GRAND FASHION
ORLANDO, Fla. - The
only way to successfully follow up their smashing inaugural season of Women's
Pro Fastpitch was to repeat as league Champions. And the Orlando Wahoos
did exactly that, winning their final 8-games of the regular season and
then sweeping the Carolina Diamonds in 2-games in the Championship Series.
After losing some key personnel from their first season, the Wahoos re-grouped
under the guidance of softball coaching legend Sharron Backus and scraped
their way back into the WPF spotlight. And they earned several honors along
the way.
LEAGUE HONORS
League MVP:
Crystl Bustos - She took the WPF by
storm in her
rookie season by leading the league in batting average (.400), on-base percentage
(.447) and slugging percentage (.633) and finished in a three-way tie for
the Home Run Champion with 10. Bustos, who played her college ball at Palm
Beach Community College, also finished second in hits (72), RBI's (36) and
runs scored (41). With 21 extra-base hits, she finished third in the league.
Her numbers are impressive enough, but when you take into account that her
season nearly ended on July 7 when she tore her anterior cruciate ligament
sliding into second base in a contest against the Tampa Bay FireStix. Many
had written her off for the season. But Crystl returned to action just 17-days
later and in her first at-bat sent one sailing out of the park. She appeared
in 58 games and had 180 appearances at the plate.
Pitcher of
the Year:
Kaci Clark - It was pitching that
earned the Wahoos
their first league title and they didn't let up a bit this year. Clark dominated the league and left
the others in her dust with 22 victories and 12 losses. She completed each
of her 27 starts and made 11 appearances in relief. She led the league in
strikeouts (210), complete games (27), shutouts (6), innings-pitched (228.0)
and finished second to her teammate Debbie Doom with an ERA of 1.81. Doom,
following up her outstanding rookie year last season in which she was named
Championship Series MVP, led the league this year with a 0.84 ERA. Despite
playing the entire season plagued by an injured knee, she performed brilliantly
in her 92 innings-pitched. The combined performances of Clark and Doom(9-1)
propelled Orlando to the top of the league in team-pitching with a 42-24
record and 2.06 team-ERA.
Coach of
the Year:
Sharron Backus - As if winning 8 NCAA National Championships weren't
enough, Backus made her first season in the WPF a sweet one by rebuilding
the defending Champs after the loss of several key components during the
off season. Despite getting off to a slow start, Backus kept the team focused
as they dominated the second half of the season winning 25 of 33 games including
their last 8 regular season games and sweeping the two contests in the Championship
Series, which was played before their opponents home crowd. The Wahoos finshed
the season with a league-best 42-24, 6-games better than the Georgia Pride
(36-30).
by Rich
Charron
Active Mind,
Inc.
|
