Before Aledo pitcher Whitney Canion left for her first UIL state softball tournament in May, she asked Garland pitcher Tomi Garrison for advice.
Garrison, the Class 5A state MVP in 2006 and 2007, told Canion she wouldn't have a problem if she loved pitching in front of big crowds.
Canion was named MVP after throwing 15 scoreless innings and setting a 4A state record with 22 strikeouts in the title game.
Now Canion and Garrison join forces for another title run.
They are the top two pitchers for the U-18 Texas Glory Gold, which will play in the Amateur Softball Association 2008 Gold National Championships beginning today at Oklahoma City.
While it could be messy having a pair of dominant pitchers, the two said they are not competing for the spotlight.
"We are just really good friends," Garrison said. "We help each other a lot."
Before Garrison joined Texas Glory Gold last fall, the pitchers had heard about each other but never had spoken.
They got to know each other better in the spring, while attending practices for Texas Glory Gold.
Now they send text messages all the time. They are roommates and shop together when the team travels.
Garrison and Canion combined for a 56-4-3 record and 625 strikeouts last high school season. Their teammates couldn't be more excited about the tandem.
"Wow!" second baseman Kathy Shelton said. "That's all you can say."
The duo gives coach Kevin Shelton a pair of hard throwers. Canion, who has signed with Baylor, is a tall left-hander who changes speeds. Garrison, a Sam Houston State signee, is a shorter, right-handed control pitcher.
"We're going to be pretty hard to beat," Canion said. "What we have to do is score runs. That's all we need as pitchers, a few runs and we're good."
To that end, the team has six district MVPs and seven all-state players. Of the 17 players on the roster, 13 have committed to or signed with Division I colleges.
Led by Canion and Garland's Brianna Love, the team placed 13th at last year's Gold Nationals. It was the best finish for a North Texas team in the history of the tournament.
This year, Texas Glory won the Hall of Fame National Qualifier in Oklahoma City. It finished 6-0, outscoring its opponents, 39-4.
"I never have been on a team playing at this level," catcher Brittany Caruthers said.
TEXAS GLORY GOLD ROSTER
| Player | Pos. | High School/ College | | Brittany Caruthers | C | Midlothian/Stephen F. Austin* | | Kallan Thompson | OF | Forney/Louisiana Tech* | | Tomi Garrison | P | Garland/Sam Houston St. | | Emma Eichman | IF | Keller Fossil Ridge | | Kathy Shelton | IF | McKinney North/Baylor* | | Mallory Mooney | IF | Mesquite Horn/Midwestern St. | | Whitney Canion | P | Aledo/Baylor | | Stevie Pierce | OF | Plano/Missouri St.* | | Hannah Schnebly | P | Weatherford/Tennessee St. | | Nicki Duff | OF | Plano East/Midwestern St. | | Lisa Johnson | Util. | Sherman/North Texas | | Kayleigh Walts | C | Flower Mound/TBD | | Brittany Griffiths | SS | Plano/Arkansas | | Lyndi Samuelson | OF | Aledo/North Texas | | Christina Roosmalen | INF | Plano West/Southern Miss* | | Lindsey Smith | Util. | Bishop Lynch/Centenary College | | Amanda Locke | IF | North Mesquite/Alabama | | *- committed | |
All members played high school softball last season, except Locke who was a redshirt freshman. Results and schedules can be found at gold.asasoftball.com
Texas Fusion (Irving), Texas Travelers (Joshua) and Texas Glory Gold will take part in the Amateur Softball Association 2008 Gold National Championships, today-Aug. 10 in Oklahoma City.
