Juniors decide early on softball scholarships

By Dave Utnik

Published: May 16, 2008

Courtney Liddle wanted to play softball at Virginia Tech long before the Hokies became the coolest college team on the planet.

“I went there and I just fell in love with it,” Battlefield’s junior catcher said.

That was back in the fall when the Hokies’ were best known as reigning Atlantic Coast Confer-ence champions.

Then Angela Tincher no-hit the U.S. Olympic team and being a Hokie meant something entirely different.

“When I committed to Tech I knew they were a great team,” Liddle said. “But when they beat the Olympic team it just built up so much more pride. I was so proud and so happy that I’m going there.”

When Liddle returns to Blacksburg, as a scholarship player, in 2009, she will join a champion-ship program that will forever be linked to the game on March 26 when Tincher defeated the best team in the world, 1-0 — the American squad’s only loss on their Bound For Beijing exhibition tour.

“That shows that Tincher is great but it also shows the talent that Tech has as a program and that will still be there when I get there,” said Liddle, who committed early to Virginia Teach after also receiving offers from DePaul, UNC and Auburn.

“I actually committed kind of late,” she said. “ But I’m just a really indecisive person in general. I want to make sure I get all the information before I make my mind up.”

Hokies coach Scot Thomas made it relatively easy for Liddle, who helped lead Battlefield to its first Cedar Run District regular season title this spring by hitting .478. She will compete for a start-ing spot as a freshman at Tech, which already has three sophomore catchers on its roster.

“That was coach Thomas’ plan,” Liddle said. “I’m not going to college for free to sit the bench.”

Hylton’s Taylor Williams has a similar plan. After spending one day on the field with the Uni-versity of Virginia softball team, the junior shortstop couldn’t imagine playing college ball any-where else.

“It seemed like a good fit,” she said. “It had everything that I wanted — great academics and a growing softball program.”

Virginia’s academic reputation played a significant role in swaying Taylor to choose the Cava-liers over ACC rival Maryland. But it was an opportunity to help new coach Eileen Schmidt return a young program to prominence that made Princeton a runner-up as well.

“She’s doing everything she can to rebuild the program and that’s something I love,” said Wil-liams, a .531-hitter who is considered Virginia’s top outfield recruit from the Class of 2009. “I want to be a part of that.

“When I visited, I went to class and to practice. I got a true experience of what it means to be a Cavalier softball player,” she said. “It’s a very well run and organized program. That’s what sealed the deal for me.”