Tipton-Rosemark chasing softball title
Team is playing like 2014 state champs
If the Tipton-Rosemark softball players hold their final team dinner at Red Lobster, you’ll know they’ve accomplished all their goals.
The Rebels celebrated at the restaurant after winning the Division II-A state championship in 2014, the last team from the Memphis area to win a title. And if they keep playing like they have been so far, they’ve got a great chance to be the next.
“I imagine we’d end up back at there,” said senior Katie Diggs. “But all we want to do is win.”
Diggs, classmate Anna Claire Williams and talented junior Rachel Whitley were all members of that 2014 team, which was the second state champ in TRA softball history. They form the backbone of this year’s squad, which heads into the weekend ranked second in The Commercial Appeal’s Elite Eight. The Rebels (20-5) travel to Dyersburg Friday before returning home to host Harding on Monday.
“I’m real hesitant to say it because I don’t want to jinx it,” said coach Johnie Sanfratello. “But this could be the best team we’ve ever had. There are a lot of similarities to the 2014 team.”
The similarities start with Whitley, who was a varsity standout as an eighthgrader. Three years later, the team’s star is bigger, stronger and without question better. She’s batting a healthy .514 with 34 RBI and an eye-popping nine homers.
“She played basketball last season,” said Sanfratello. “And she hit a lot of balls up against the fence. She’d come back to the dugout and I’d joke with her ... ‘if you were with us, those would be out of the park.’
“We still have three that play basketball. But the other 15 were with us for all the offseason work in the weight room. And instead of stopping once the season started we’ve continued. I think that’s really been a key for us.”
Sanfratello says Whitley has squatted 250 while Shelby Clifton, the team’s standout catcher, can do 280. It may not sound like much to the football players of the world but it’s making a big difference in the team’s power game.
Abby West and Emily Fisher each have five home runs while Clifton has added three.
“It’s made us stronger,” said Whitley. “We work out every day ... a lot of squats, a lot of upper body work. And I think mentally it helps us too.” Sanfratello has no doubt about that. “We can really hit,” he said. “We can score runs. There have been some games where we didn’t score (much) but when we’re down, we always feel like we’re going to score. We really do believe that.”
Other teams that TRA will face on the road to the title can hit too. But Sanfratello has an ace — or two — up his sleeve when it comes to the pitching staff.
Whitley is 11-4 with 51 strikeouts and just six walks while eighth-grader Charli Rice is 9-1 with 71 K’s in just 44.2 innings. The staff’s combined ERA is just under two runs per game.
“I’ve caught Rachel for three years now and she’s gotten a lot better,” said Clifton. “And (Rice) has been very strong. She’s stepped it up huge.”
Whitley said she can relate to Rice’s position as a talented eighth-grader trying to blend in with a veteran team. After all, she did the same thing three seasons ago.
“It’s hard coming in an not knowing anybody,” she said. “It’s awkward. I want to make sure that she’s treated like in a way that I would have want to been treated.”
2014 team.”
Spring signees
Wednesday marked the first day of the spring signing period and several local players celebrated a big day.
Hamilton’s Tesia Thompson — the city’s second-leading scorer in 2016-17 — will play her college basketball at Southeast Missouri. The 5-10 point guard did it all for the Wildcats, scoring 26.5 points per game to go along with 11.6 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 4.8 steals. Off the court, the honor student carries a 3.8 grade point average.
Fayette-Ware standout D.J. Jackson signed with Southern Illinois-Edwardsville while Parrish Hewitt — a AA Mr. Basketball finalist — followed through on his recent commitment and signed with Tennessee-Martin.
The area’s top wrestler also signed as Trevor Brown of CBHS pledged his future to West Virginia. Brown was the Best of the Preps winner in 2016 and was the only Shelby County wrestler to win a state title this winter, capturing the Division II crown at 138.
Reach John Varlas at john.varlas@ commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @johnvarlas.