Sun, Nov 22 2009
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They know they belong Jaguars 18U headed for nationals BOB ETTINGERStar Beacon The Jaguars have a good combination of speed and power mixed in with line-drive hitters.
Lauren Childs and Katie McMellen are the rabbits, Courtney Francis and Jenn Tennant, as well as a few others at times, provide the power and the rest of the lineup is capable of hitting a liner into a gap at any given moment. “Callie, Liz (Wilson), Megan (Dragon) and Jordyn (Cicon) all have enough strength to hit it deep,” Scott Francis said. “Bayle (Boggs) is very good at hitting the gaps. All through the lineup, we have girls that can step in and get the big hit. We also have girls that have great speed. Julie (Ezzo), Hannah and Jenn all hit the ball hard. Katie and Lauren have a lot of speed.” The lineup changes with each and every game. But the order Scott Francis used last weekend in the 2008 Ohio Jaguars Summer Showcase championship game was Childs, McMellen (a St. Francis signee), Courtney Francis, Busch, Tennant, Boggs, Hannah Francis, Dragon and Ezzo. Cicon came off the bench to pinch hit and Wilson (a Marietta signee) was the flex player. The Jaguars have also added another strong bat in Christina Hutchison for the tournament. She will be filling in for injured pitcher Kara Egelsky. Also out for the tournament with a sprained foot is Erica Villa. That mix of power, speed and line-drive hitters is what makes the Jaguars so dangerous. “We make other teams have to play defense,” Scott Francis said. “Some teams are one-dimensional. They have all big hitters or rely on only speed. With what we’re able to do, the defense can’t get into any rhythm. We have speed, big hitters and line-drive hitters. We have a little bit of everything. If a team has a defensive weakness, there’s a good chance we’ll find it. The Jaguars will be making the trip with four pitchers very capable at winning every time they take the hill. Francis’ staff will include Dragon, Hutchison, Cicon and Ezzo. “We have four pitchers that will go,” Scott Francis said. “Julie doesn’t have as much speed as the others, but she comes in and hits her spots. She has a nice changeup and when (batters) get their bats on the ball, they rarely hit it solid. When that changeup is working, she gets a lot of dribblers. “Jordyn comes in and throws over 60,” Scott Francis said. “That increase in speed is only four or five miles an hour over the previous pitcher. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but it’s huge. When she hits her spots, they have a hard time catching up with it.” Dragon and Hutchison will most likely make the majority of starts with Cicon, who has three saves on the summer, and Ezzo working in relief. “This summer, Megan’s been... well, she’s been Megan,” Scott Francis said. “She’s done an outstanding job for us. The last two tournaments she’s been especially sharp. Last weekend was maybe the best I’ve ever seen her pitch.” And Hutchison is a second ace on the staff. 
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