LINCOLN — As they got ready to hit the softball diamond with their respective teams for practice on Tuesday afternoon, the coaches for the 2015 Nebraska Coaches Association Softball All-Star game were excited to say the least.
“It’s unbelievable to be coaching these girls,” said Lincoln Southeast coach Tim Roberson, who will head the Blue Team in tomorrow’s doubleheader. “You can sit and have lunch with them and you know what great leaders they are and the passion they have for the game.
The 11th annual contest which features the state’s top-30 seniors begins at 4:00 on Wednesday at the University of Nebraska’s Bowlin Stadium and can be seen live on strivsports.com.
For Norris coach Dave Carpenter, who will mentor the Red Team, the level of talent on display for both teams will be exciting to to watch.
“We are still learning names,” Carpenter said. “But, you know who everybody is if you are a fan of softball. You can’t really single out any players as being standouts on either team.
“In my opinion, they are the best in the state.”
Six All-Nebraska selections by the Omaha World-Herald will be part of the festivities with the game one pitching matchup sure to be a highlight. The Red will throw Elkhorn’s Laura Roeder and the Blue will have Millard South’s Jordan Johnson in the circle.
Roeder was 21-3 in 2014 for the Antlers Class B state title team with 273 strikeouts and a 0.90 ERA and she batted .434 at the plate.
Johnson was equally impressive. She led the Patriots to their fourth state Class A title and became just the third pitcher in state history to record the win in three consecutive state finals games. She was 17-1 in 2014 and 69-10 for her career and will continue her career at Central Missouri State.
Johnson is joined by fellow Millard South teammate Emily Hove on the Red Team as well as Papillion-LaVista super-state selection Jordan Van Roy.
“You know that with the two girls from Millard South, they have great talent,” Roberson of the team his squad will face. “You look at what they have and you just don’t see very much weakness there.”
And, it’s the same in the other side as Roeder is joined by four other super-state selections for the Blue Team: Julia Andersen (Papillion-LaVista), Gabbie Jones (Omaha Marian), Erin Lockhart (Lincoln Southeast) and Kristen Van Hoosen (Millard West).
“Their pitching will be a tough test for us,” Carpenter said of the Blue Team. “Pitch selection will be a big key for us, but I think we have some good hitters.”
The all-star game also gives both coaches a chance to coach their own players one final time, a reward that both look forward to experiencing.
Lockhart, who will play for Harvard next year, batted .596 with eight home runs and 30 RBI for Lincoln Southeast last fall. Roberson is thrilled to watch be on her side again.
“I think every program needs a kid like Erin Lockhart,” he said. “She says okay to whatever you ask, never complains and works hard.”
For Carpenter, he’ll have Norris catcher Madison Behrends on his side for the Red Team. She caught every game for the Titans for four years and earned second-team super-state honors last fall with a .467 batting average.
“It’s a pretty special thing to get to coach her one more time,” Carpenter said. “She is one of the best players we have ever had in our program, but she is an even better kid.
“I’ll cherish the last chance to coach her.”
Both coaches, too, will cherish that chance to coach the state’s best softball talent as well.
Watch the games LIVE tomorrow at 4 & 6pm by click here.
