Published: October 07, 2008 10:05 am      

Staying on the ball

Dines a fixture in the Duncan lineup

DUNCAN — During her time on the Duncan varsity softball team, Judy Dines has enjoyed a run of success not common for most athletes, helping pitch the Lady Demons into three state softball tournaments. The one thing left, reaching a fourth.

That mission will start Wednesday when Duncan begins regional play at home. The Lady Demons will open against Western Heights at 3 p.m. with a win placing them in a winner’s bracket game against the winner of Chickasha and Noble. The regional championship will be played on Thursday.

“This is a special group,” Duncan coach Robert Cowan said. “When I came to Duncan, the five seniors that we have were all freshmen.

“Judy has carried the majority of the load, she is a very mature girl. The situations that she pitched under would be tough for anybody.”

The pressure that comes in big games is something that is welcome to Dines. As a senior, she has been in big game situations several times over and has learned to embrace the moment.

“I like being in control,” Dines said. “It’s like a challenge to me and I like the pressure and the stress that comes with it. When it gets close, I like it best.”

This season, Dines has posted a 16-4 record, sharing time in the circle with Madison Pewitt. This coming off of a season where she posted a 21-5 mark.

Her poise and maturity have helped set her apart, and given the Lady Demons a comfort zone that other teams lack. Dines is not an overpowering pitcher, relying on her ability to place her pitches. That approach fits her demeanor. As a leader for the Lady Demons, she is not one to come across as fiery, but very competitive, nevertheless.

“I’m kind of a people-pleaser, that is part of what pitching is about,” Dines said. “You want to work hard for your team when pitching, and they give it back on offense. It’s all about respect.”

Dines’ year started off slow with a couple of losses and an knee injury while batting, something she has not done much in her high school career. She attributed the injury to the softball gods telling her that she was overstepping her boundaries.

Since then, she has mainly stayed within the circle, and enjoying her senior season to the fullest. Next year, Dines plans on hanging up the glove and attending Oklahoma State. At that point, she will begin to search for something to fill the void that softball has filled in her life.

“It’s an escape most definitely,” Dines said. “I don’t have to think about everything else that’s going on in my life. In the circle, I’m in control of my life and everything that I do.

“Softball is more than a hobby, it’s a way of life,” Dines said. “It teaches you characteristics, what kind of person you are and how hard a worker you are.”

Dines, as well as her senior teammates, have met the challenges that softball has presented. Their legacy is one that future classes will be hard-pressed to match. And the class is not done yet.

“I think this is a way of showing we are a dominating class, all five of us together,” Dines said. “I have grown really close with all of the seniors, this is how we met each other, playing 10-and-under softball.”

The biggest hurdle in the way of Duncan’s mission to return to state is Chickasha. The Lady Chicks are ranked No. 9 in the state. The two teams have met once this year with the No. 8 Lady Demons picking up the win in a close game.

“We didn’t beat them as well as we would have thought,” Dines said. “Chickasha is a big rival, not just in softball.”

If the Lady Demons get past Chickasha, they will try to add to the legacy with a state championship, the only feather missing from the cap. And it would be an exceptional reward for a class, and a pitcher, that have meant so much to the program.