It's Unanimous

Nothing is ever certain. Nothing is ever guaranteed in prep sports.
No. 1 seeds eventually tumble. Blue chippers are not cinches for anything. And even Heisman Trophy winners do not necessarily bring fame and fortune.
But F.W. Springstead's highly-touted senior pitcher Becky Powell may be the closest thing to a lock.
Powell was recently named by the Hernando Today staff and area coaches to its annual 14-member All-County Softball Team.
It's the right-hander's fourth all-star selection in as many seasons.
Following a campaign, where only 29 percent of the tabbed all-stars were repeat selections, the 5-foot-8, blonde stood tall repeating as the county's Player of the Year (POY).
Becky, the younger of two daughters to Spring Hill's Larry and Penny Powell, was a unanimous selection.

Outstanding senior campaign

Perhaps the 18-year-old Powell saved her best for last.
After hitting .392 as a junior, she duplicated those lofty stats by hitting .393 in 2008. She scored more runs (13), collected more hits (33) and drove in more runs (20) than in any of her previous seasons under Head Coach Craig Swartout.
Across 100 career games at SHS, Powell finished with a lifetime .349 average.
But her batting prowess is just a fraction of the complete picture.
Besides pitching, she was extremely versatile on the diamond. She's filled in at third base, shortstop and first base for the Lady Eagles.
But let's face it, her bread 'n butter is on the mound.
Despite the loss of four-time All-County catcher Hilary Fiocca to graduation last spring, who caught Powell at Powell Middle School and Springstead, Becky put up unreal stats this year.
With the assistance of sophomore catcher Olivia D'Acunto, Powell completed 20-of-23 starts and hurled a career-high 142-plus innings.
She fanned a school-record 201 batters compared to issuing 21 walks. That's an unheard of almost 10-to-1 ratio in strikeouts to walks.
Across four seasons, Powell fanned 575 batters in 452 innings. For her career, she produced over a 6-to-1 ratio in strikeouts (575) to walks (89).
Almost as startling, she permitted 259 career hits in 77 games pitched -- or less than 3½ hits per game.
Oh and nearly a third of her complete games (60) were shutouts (18).
So what was it like on the news of being named POY for the second time?
"Getting back-to-back means a lot," said Powell, who has not officially decided on where she will be playing next fall. "This is a great achievement. I'm proud of working hard and getting there."
How disappointed was Powell in never reaching the district championship in four seasons?
"We had a really good season," described Powell's 17-8 senior year. "We were all friends in school. As the season progressed, we got tighter.
"Yeah, it's a little disappointing (not reaching the district finals)," she remarked. "But I had such a good time out there and loved playing with my teammates."
Biggest achievements?
"When I was a sophomore we beat Hernando in the first-round of districts at Zephyrhills," smiled Powell. "They're our rival. They beat us during the regular season, but we beat them in districts. That was exciting."
On her relationship with Coach Swartout, "He's a great guy," she replied. "He's easy to get along with and treats us all like family."

Coaches' speak

Area coaches heaped praise on Powell's selection.
"She was definitely the dominant pitcher in the county," said Central High Head Coach Tyson Ellis. "She plays like a senior. She doesn't get rattled out there (as a pitcher). She was Springstead's rock; they leaned on her.
"Besides pitching, you had to account for her when she came to the plate," added Coach Ellis. "I would have taken her on my team any day."
"I think she's the type of player you like to watch," insisted NCT's first-year Head Coach Mettina Maggiore. "There's a certain amount of confidence about her. But she kept her composure whether an outfielder dropped the ball or she got a strikeout.
"To me, she was very mature," added Maggiore. "She's someone you'd like to strive to be as a pitcher. She's a great pitcher, but when she came to the plate you had to focus on her as a team."
"You tell Craig (Swartout) if you take away Becky (Powell), you take away the puzzle," reminded Hernando High's third-year Head Coach Kevin Bittinger, who incidentally guided Powell at Powell Middle School. "Craig's got his work cut out with Becky gone. She's not only a great pitcher, but she can play first, too.
"I watched her last game behind the plate (a grueling 2-0 loss to No. 1 seed Pasco in the 4A-8 semifinals)," admitted Bittinger. "Normally, you think of Becky as over powering. But that night, she was typical Becky. Pasco's got a great hitting team, but she had them guessing all night. She put on a display. You don't get too many people like Becky Powell come around too often."
"She's (Powell) a special type player," understated Coach Swartout. "She throws the ball great, but her greatest attribute is her mental toughness. Sometimes I get giddy after the things she does and she'll look at me and say, 'Why you excited? I did what I'm supposed to do.'
"To me, she's a coaches' dream," added Swartout. "As a softball player, she's top notch. She's got the mental game and desire to win. She also has the patience to make her teammates better, wherever she goes, that school will be getting a pretty good player and first class person.
"I've said it before, but we played against some pretty good people in the four years she was here," insisted Swartout. "I wouldn't trade anybody for Becky."

By the Numbers: Becky Powell
- Compiled by TONY CASTRO

Batting
YEAR GP AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI .AVG
2005 25 78 10 27 6 1 0 17 .346
2006 27 85 05 23 5 0 0 11 .271
2007 23 74 07 29 7 0 0 12 .392
2008 25 84 13 33 7 0 0 20 .393
TOTALS 100 321 35 112 25 1 0 60 .349

Pitching
YEAR GP GS CG IP H R ER BB KO SHO W L ERA
2005 12 12 11 76.6 31 18 12 15 73 2 8 3 1.10
2006 17 17 12 103.0 65 66 29 19 117 4 6 11 1.97
2007 23 23 17 130.0 62 40 23 34 184 9 13 9 1.24
2008 25 23 20 142.3 101 67 42 21 201 3 15 7 2.07
TOTALS 77 75 60 452.0 259 191 106 89 575 18 42 30 1.64