ATLANTA’S OLIVER IS TOP HURLER
ATLANTA, Texas— Motionless, face down
in the steamy heat and the well-churned dust at first base, Lanee Oliver looked to be out for the count.
After pitch--
ing five solid innings in the regional semifinals against a talented, well-coached Sanger squad, Oliver had moved to second while the Rabbits’ other really good pitcher, Jaci Cullins tried to shut the door.
With the bases loaded, a Sanger player hit a dribbler to the right side. While her twin, Alexandria Oliver, struggled to field it, the diminutive Lanee Oliver raced to cover the bag, arriving at the same moment as a hefty baserunner.
The two appeared to hit heads. The Atlanta sophomore, who would become the Gazette’s Regional Pitcher of the Year, dropped like a pheasant shot in mid-flight.
A large, boisterous, crowd of maroon-clad Rabbit fans seemed to hold its breath for what seemed liked forever, but actually was 10 minutes, as trainers from both teams and a paramedic tended to her.
It was such a contrast. All season, at the center of a cast of over-achievers, there was always Lanee Oliver, daughter of Gerrod and Allison Oliver.
Oliver was a rock for an unheralded Rabbit squad—whose seniors had never won a playoff game—marched to a 13-3A title and into the state top 10 (they would finish No. 5). This was a team with its share of stars, but in a larger sense it was a team of great kids, role players who came through with timely hitting, flawless defense, and solid pitching every day.
“It was the best team I ever played for,” she said. “We loved each other more than we loved ourselves and I think that’s why were so successful.”
No one was more consistent than Lanee Oliver. Throwing to her big sister, senior catcher Alyssa Oliver, week-after-week, game-after-game, she put her team in a position to win. She went 19-4, struck out 159 while walking only 10. Her ERA was 2.39, which in this case is more than an average, it’s the story of a season.
Oliver got strikeouts and ground balls, and other teams rarely got big innings. Atlanta’s offense, on the other hand usually put up a 10-spot or more. Do that, you usually win. The Rabbits usually did.
“Lanee’s got a big heart,” said her coach, Tobie Dunlap. “She lays it out there. She gives all she’s got.”
Finally, the trainers and paramedics turned her over and sat her up. Then a funny thing happened. Rather than limp like a wounded soldier to the dugout, she jumped to her feet like a champ, grabbed her glove and trotted back to her position.
Sanger had tied the game on that play, but in that inning and next, Lanee Oliver made two key defensive plays that kept the Indians off the scoreboard. The game went into extra innings. Finally, in the bottom of the eighth, she was forced to throw in the towel after she staggered, bat in hand, to the plate.
Those defensive plays were absolutely essential. Had Sanger forced a third game, the Indians could have named their score. Atlanta had no more pitching that day. Cullins, who would have surgery a week after the season ended, finished the game throwing every pitch in excruciating pain.
But it never came to that. Instead, the Atlanta defense made the key plays. Finally, in the bottom of the 10th, Ashlyn Dodson laced a single to bring in Alexandria Oliver, giving the Rabbs their eighth playoff win.
For another week, at least, the dream lived on.