As with most of Drury's 250-plus student-athletes, summertime isn't exactly all vacation time for the baseball Panthers.
There's fine-tuning to be done, and coach Mark Stratton's charges have spread out once again across the Midwest to play for various summer-league teams.
Several of the Panthers have stayed in Springfield to compete on Friday nights in a league being played at Meador Park. Others have fanned out as far away as Colorado (pitcher Blair Ellington).
The latest highlights from Stratton: Joe Baseball, aka junior shortstop Joe Rohlfing, is mashing the ball in the Ban Johnson League in the Kansas City area; junior pitcher Chris Marston, who emerged as the staff ace the second half of last season, is 1-0 with a 2.33 ERA in eight games in the Central Illinois Collegiate League (CICL), having struck out 19 and walked three in 27 innings, limiting opponents to a .202 batting average (second in the league); junior pitcher Harrison Waters is 1-1 with a 5.21 ERA for the Nevada Griffons of the Jayhawk League, including 16 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched; and senior pitcher Zane Montgomery, a transfer from Southwest Baptist who sat out last spring, has fanned 27 in 18 innings in the Springfield Greene County Park Board Wood Bat League at Meador; and Ellington, who missed last season after shoulder surgery, has two saves and a 3.57 ERA in 15 innings pitched for the Denver Cougars of the Rocky Mountain Baseball League.
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The Lady Panthers are now playing a little more short-handed during The Courts Summer Pro-Am League with the departure of sophomore point guard Janelle Jones back to Virginia. Janelle lost a close friend in an automobile crash, and with her first block summer classes completed, is going to spend some time at home before returning for the fall semester, coach Steve Harold said.
DU is already low in numbers with junior standout Melanie Oliver also back in Virginia recovering from minor knee surgery this summer and junior guard Hannah Carter studying overseas. Carter could be back with the squad in time for next week's summer league games. Incoming freshman Sarah Jane Plemmons from Marshfield has been out since suffering a knee injury in the Lion's Club All-Star Game early last month and is a likely redshirt candidate while she rehabilitates this fall and winter.
Meanwhile, freshman guard Katie Pritchard from Waynesville has been the talk of the summer league with the way she has taken over several games with her athleticism, and freshman post Erica Groose also has opened some eyes with her play. That pair, as well as incoming freshmen Dennon Mitchell and Dominique Long in particular for the DU men, have shown they may be ready to jump into the fires of college basketball early on in the upcoming season.
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Speaking of the basketball Panthers ... a pair of former DU stars are taking their games to the professional level overseas.
Collins Harris, who completed his fine four-year DU career as the sixth leading scorer in school history this past spring, has signed to play professionally in Germany. Brandon Kimbrough, who completed his outstanding run as a Panther with the 2006-07 season, is headed for the pro ranks in England.
Congrats to both as they enter the "pay for play" scene.
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It's been a big week for DU tennis with former stars Stefan Borg and Mouna Sabri each getting an opportunity to play in World Team Tennis matches at the Cooper Tennis Complex, Borg for the Springfield Lasers and Sabri against them as a substitute player for the Philadelphia Freedoms.
As an article in the Springfield News-Leader said it best, the Lasers consider it a luxury having a quality D-II tennis program like Drury in town from which to choose fill-in players for a professional league that includes several regulars in the game's Grand Slam events.
DU coaches Amine Boustani (men) and Jarrod Smith (women) are busy this summer attempting to fill depleted rosters due to graduation and defections. Boustani returns just three players from last season's NCAA-II national semifinalist, while Smith has just two players back from a Sweet 16 qualifier. News of newcomers will be coming soon on both fronts as soon as the required paperwork is in.
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Drury softball coach Annie Medico will be one of the assistant coaches when the United States Olympic softball team plays a squad of area standouts on July 18 at Thompson Field (Meador Park). The event is a sellout as Springfield fans have come out in droves to watch the U.S. go through its final tuneups before heading to Beijing to bring home the gold.
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I want to wish the best of luck to departing Lady Panthers assistant basketball coach Jill Curry, who announced her resignation earlier this week as she prepares to enter the world of the married later this winter, moves to Branson with her soon-to-be hubby and pursues other interests.
Not only was Jill a standout basketball player for the DU program from the time it was born, but she later contributed to the volleyball team once her hoops days were over, worked in the school's alumni office, then moved on to serve as an assistant coach for two seasons, one each for Nyla Milleson and Steve Harold.
I don't know that I've ever met a more positive person than Jill, who honestly never seemed to have a bad day. Drury will miss Curry and the sunny-day outlook she brought to work on a daily basis. Heck, she even made this sometimes grumpy ol' SID step back and realize from time to time that you know, we've all got it pretty darn good working at Drury, being around sports on a daily basis in a great environment with such bright, wonderful student-athletes who work their tails off to make sure we continue to put one of the finest products in NCAA Division II on the fields, courts, courses and pools.
Thanks, Jill, for the occasional, necessary wake-up call.