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Batting
ninth in the Wave line-up, Brionna Greer is just a piece of the
Lady Wave puzzle that may help take
Greenville back to Akron and an
appearance in the state final four. CNO Photo by Dylan Knoop
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Lady Wave
preparing for run to state
The second ‘season’ starts May 10
By George Starks
GREENVILLE- For a very long time, Jerrod Newland said that Lady Wave
softball was the best kept secret in Ohio.
It’s no secret anymore.
Lady Wave softball is known across the state as one of the best
programs in Ohio or the tri-state for that matter.
In the past, Newland has made some wild predictions. Most of which have
come to pass. The biggest was in his rookie year when he said, “Lady
Wave softball will win the state in four years.” Four years later,
2007, Greenville beat St. Marys Memorial 1-0, to win the D-II state
championship.
He also predicted the Wave would return to state sooner than most could
imagine. In 2010, Greenville was in the final four. Now, two years
later, Newland has said in a pre-season interview that his Lady Wave
team will once again make it back to the big stage.
After the Wave thumped Sidney on Wednesday, 9-1, to win the GWOC North
for the fourth straight year, Greenville went to 19-4 overall and was
ranked fifth in the state in D-II with four games remaining to be
played.
On the day of the seeding, Greenville was seeded second, missing the
top seed by a mere two votes behind Ben Logan.
A show of respect.
“We were the second seed but the first team to go on the bracket,” said
Newland. “The numbers don’t mean a thing. All I know is we are going to
line up and play.”
Can the Wave get there again?
“We are going to win five in a row and take a field trip to Akron,”
said Newland in an exclusive interview.
Taking a first round bye, Greenville will host the winner of the
Greenon/Tecumseh game to be played Thursday, May 10.
But the brackets tell the story. The GWOC Lady Wave will battle the
best of the Central Buckeye Conference.
“The sectional is a CBC tournament but the numbers only allow you to go
on. Once you’re on, it’s any given day,” Newland pointed out.
“Hopefully, we will do it like the Kentucky Wildcats did and run away
with it.”
Newland has nothing but respect for the CBC and its teams.
“That is a tough conference from top to bottom,” Newland admitted. “In
years past, there’s always been one dominant team. This year, there are
four or five teams that are very, very good and a few teams that are
average or above. If we don’t bring our ‘A’ game, we’ll be done the
first game of the tournament. I would guess that first game will be
with Tecumseh and they will come packing heat. If we don’t play Lady
Wave softball, I’ll be crying like a lot of other teams will be after
first round losses.”
A first round loss is unacceptable in Newland’s eyes but the target is
getting bigger on the backs of the Wave.
“That target has been on our backs for a long time and it’s getting
bigger,” Newland said. “That’s a tribute to the kids and how hard they
work. That’s what it’s all about. “We had a group of freshman that set
a standard by the time they were seniors and we follow that standard,”
said Newland. That was and still is the standard of Lady Wave softball.
Anything else is unacceptable.”
No matter what happen the rest of the 2012 season, the second season
starts on May 10 for Greenville at Stebbins Field in a 5 p.m. start.
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