Softball pitcher, Angela Tincher, 2008 National Collegiate Player of the Year, third on the NCAA all-time strikeout leader list, and National Professional Faspitch player, was kind enough to take a break from her busy softball schedule to answer some questions for PrettyTough.com

Six months ago, Angela Tincher led Virginia Tech University to a historical no hit, shut out win against Team USA. Every amazing athlete has a beginning. Check out Tincher’s story of her softball beginning below. 

Hometown: Eagle Rock, Virginia
High School: James River High School
ASA Teams: Roanoke Scrappers 14U and 18U, 18U Virginia Shamrocks 
College: Virginia Tech University

How old were you when you first started playing softball?
I started playing Little League when I was nine. I tried pitching at ten and I really started practicing pitching at eleven.

Did you love softball right away? Did you play any other sports?<em>
I tried dance, gymnastics, and basketball. None of those stuck. Softball was the one thing that I wanted to play year round. I played volleyball for five years, but it was just in season. I wanted to play softball all the time.

Did you play ASA?
I played for a local ASA team called the Roanoke Scrappers. Then, during my senior year, I drove three and a half hours to play for the Virginia Shamrocks, an ASA Gold Team because I wanted the national exposure.

Where did you play high school softball?
I transferred to James River High School during my sophomore year after my family and I moved.

Did you dominate as a pitcher during high school?
I wouldn’t say I dominated all the time. But, I did pitch games where I struck out every batter I faced. We won states my junior and senior year.

Who was your pitching coach?
My dad. When I started playing Little League, my dad taught himself pitching mechanics with books and videos, so he could teach me. At that time, there weren’t any clinics or coaches in the area. We learned together and tried all sorts of stuff, deciding what worked and didn’t work along the way.

How did you end up at Virginia Tech?
I wasn’t recruited very heavily out of high school. Since my high school was small, schools weren’t sure if the competition was strong enough. Virginia Tech is about an hour and a half away from where I live. Virginia Tech showed interest in me. It was the only visit I took and when coach made an offer, I took it.

Want to learn more? Check out this in-depth article about Tincher’s humble, small town beginnings here. 

Next Tuesday: Part 2: Angela Tincher: The Pitcher – Angela shares pitching tips and what it was like to tryout for the Olympics.

Filed under: College Softball, Pro Softball, Profiles, Softball by keri mikulski
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July 21, 2008 - At last night’s ESPY Awards, the trophy for Best Moment went to the Sportsmanship demonstrated at a Central Washington vs. Western Oregon Softball Game. In case you’re unfamiliar with the story,  it’s worth repeating.

The women’s softball teams from Western Oregon and Central Washington were playing for a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs. With the score at 0-0 and two runners on base, 5-foot-2 Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky came to bat. The outfielder had never hit a home run before. Not in college, not in high school. And then she hit one over the center field fence.

In her excitement to round the bases, Sara missed first. She stopped, pivoted and collsapsed with a knee injury. Crawling back to the base, she was told none of her teammates could help her, and if they put in a substitute runner her homer would be ruled a single.

And that is when Central Washington senior Mallory Holtman stepped in. With her team’s chances of moving onto the playoffs on the line, she  asked the umpire if she and her teammates could pick Sara up and carry her around the bases. Mallory and shortstop Liz Wallace picked up their injured opponent and the unlikely threesome made their way around the bases. By the time they reached home plate, the crowd was cheering and in tears.

Western Oregon went on to win the game 4-2 and the series. Mallory and Liz’s good deed no doubt ultimately helped to end their team’s season but that’s not really what mattered, said Mallory:

“In the end, it is not about winning and losing so much. It was about this girl. She hit it over the fence and was in pain, and she deserved a home run.”      

Sportsmanship of this caliber is rare and these beautiful girls with their big hearts rightfully deserved the ESPY (and so much more). They acted above the moment, above the game, and above themselves; they acted without hesitation. No sports moment of the past decade can supersede this one.

Congrats girls!If you watch this clip, be sure to have a box of tissues on hand!

Filed under: College Athletics, College Softball, General, TV by jane
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June 4, 2008 - The Sun Devils shut out the Aggies, 11 - 0, to win their first NCAA Softball National Title.  

Arizona State pitcher, Kristen Burkhart, who was named Most Outstanding Player of the series, tossed a four hitter with thirteen strikeouts and Kaitlin Cochran blasted a three-run homerun in the fifth inning. Congratulations, Arizona State, very impressive!  

Filed under: College Softball, Softball by keri mikulski
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June 3, 2008 - Last night in front of over 7,000 fastpitch fans, Arizona State shutout Texas A&M, 3-0, to take the first game of the Softball College World Series best out of three final. Arizona State pitcher, Katie Burkhart, threw a two hitter and struck out eleven. While Sun Devils’ freshman, Krista Donnenwirth, led the offense with two RBI singles and a homerun.

Don’t miss a minute of the excitement as Arizona State and Texas A&M meet again tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST on ESPN2.  If the Sun Devils win, it will be the school’s first Softball College World Series championship. 

Filed under: College Softball, Softball by keri mikulski
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In case you’ve been studying for finals and not caught up on what’s happening in NCAA women’s sports around the country - here are some highlights:

Golf: USC Captures Women’s Golf Title (May 22, Albuquerque, NM) The Trojans won the 2008 Women’s Golf Championship event by six-strokes over UCLA and claimed their first women’s golf national championship since 2003.

Lacrosse: Wildcats Top Penn for NCAA Championship (May 25,  - Towson, MD) With help from textbook offensive execution, pristine passing and stout goaltending, the Northwestern Wildcats won their fourth consecutive NCAA championship Sunday, beating Penn, 10-6.

Tennis: Georgia Tech’s Amanda McDowell Wins NCAA Singles Crown (May 26, Tulsa, OK)  All-American Amanda McDowell completed her run through the NCAA Singles Championships by capturing a straight-set win over Baylor’s Zuzana Zemenova in the finals to become the first Yellow Jacket tennis player to earn an individual national championship.

Softball: The Hokies Have Arrived (May 28, Oklahoma City, OK) The Virginia Tech softball team has finally made it to Oklahoma City for the program’s first-ever Women’s College World Series.

Rowing: Division I Rowing Championships (May 20, Indianapolis, IN) The NCAA  has selected the teams that will compete in the 2008 Division I Women’s Rowing Championships including defending champion Brown. UC Berkeley will serve as host May 30 through June 1st.

Filed under: College Athletics, College Softball, General, Golf, Lacrosse, Student-Athlete, Tennis by Pretty Tough
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May 28, 2008 - Last night, Virginia Tech pitcher, Angela Tincher, was named the 2008 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.

Tincher led Virginia Tech to its first ever appearance in the College World Series, recorded 2,121 career strikeouts, and leads the nation averaging 14 strikeouts per 7 innings. Tincher also made USA softball history on March 26, 2008 when she no hit Team USA in seven innings. Check out USA Softball’s complete coverage of the ceremony here. 

Filed under: College Softball, Softball by keri mikulski
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May 27, 2008 - The Women’s Softball College World Series is days away. Eight teams are traveling to Oklahoma with the same goal in mind, a National Championship. Who do you think will take home the trophy? Will it be Virginia Tech, led by pitcher, Angela Tincher, who no-hit and became the first college team to beat Team USA? Or will top seed Florida win it all? But wait, don’t count out tradition rich UCLA or Arizona. Don’t miss the most exciting series in softball starting this Thursday at noon on ESPN.

Check out the first round matchups:
Florida vs. LaFayette - Noon ESPN
Texas A&M vs. Virginia Tech - 2 p.m. ESPN
Alabama vs. Arizona State - 6 p.m. ESPN
Arizona vs. UCLA - 8 p.m. ESPN 

Tuesday night at the WCWS Party at the Park, the 2008 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year is announced. Past winners include Olympians Stacey Nuveman, Cat Osterman, and Monica Abbott. Three finalists vying for the title are Virginia Tech pitcher, Angela Tincher, Texas A & M pitcher, Megan Gibson, and Tennessee infielder, Tonya Callahan.  Check out more about the finalists here. 

My prediction to take it all this weekend stays the same from last week, Virginia Tech or Florida. I’m not 100% convinced of my decision, since UCLA and Arizona tend to get hot this time of year. Angela Tincher is my POY prediction. What’s your predictions? Who do you think will win Player of the Year?  

Filed under: College Softball, General by keri mikulski
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May 20, 2008 - It’s that time of year again. The College World Series arrives in Oklahoma next Thursday, May 29th. Last weekend sixteen teams earned the right to play in the Super Regionals, which begin on Friday, May 23rd. The winners of the Super Regionals will then advance to the biggest tournament in college softball, The College World Series. Coverage of the Super Regionals begins on Friday at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN and runs all weekend long.

Here are the super regional match-ups:

• Florida vs. California
• La.-Layfayette vs. Houston
• Texas A&M vs. Stanford
• Virginia Tech vs. Michigan
• Alabama vs. Missouri
• Northwestern vs. Arizona State
• Arizona vs. Oklahoma
• Georgia vs. UCLA 

Who are you routing for? Personally, I’m psyched to watch Virginia Tech take on Michigan, since Virginia Tech beat Team USA. On the other hand, for the first time this season, Florida received a unanimous decision to place number one on this week’s ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Collegiate Poll, so I’m excited to see Florida play California.

Have a fun fastpitch filled weekend and Happy Memorial Day.   

Filed under: College Softball, Softball by keri mikulski
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April 22, 2008 - Beginning last week, ESPN 2 began airing Bound 4 Beijing games on Tuesdays and two Wednesdays from April 16 - May 14th at 7:00 p.m. Be sure to check out the action as the USA Team takes on Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Virginia Tech, DePaul, Michigan, and Tennessee.

Bummed because you’re busy on Tuesdays? No problem. Check out the Re-Air Schedule here. 

Filed under: Beijing Summer Games 2008, College Softball, Olympics, Softball, TV by keri mikulski
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April 15, 2008 - Check out Team USA battle it out against Arizona State tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN2. This Bound 4 Beijing game was originally played on February 19th, but airs this evening.  Finally, softball on television. Life is good. 

Filed under: Beijing Summer Games 2008, College Softball, Olympics, Softball, TV by keri mikulski
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