San Diego Player of the Week : Rice Finds Winning Formula and Isn’t Defensive About It

Terri Rice, a pitcher for Patrick Henry High School’s softball team, has molded her talents to make the best use of her team’s superior defense.

“Our defense is so good,” said Rice, 17, “I can count on them and let the other team hit the ball.”

Last week, Rice, The Times’ Player of the Week, pitched a three-hitter in a 1-0 victory over Madison and a one-hitter in a 12-0 victory over Morse. She is 15-5 with a 0.74 earned-run average.

“We have an awfully good defense behind her,” said John Ferguson, Patrick Henry coach. “A big reason her ERA is really low is because we have a good defense. We have a very good balance between the two (pitching and defense).”

The victory over Madison, the defending section champion, was made possible by a diving catch in the sixth inning by sophomore center fielder Lindy Kaiser which saved a run.

Patrick Henry (20-5 overall) is 6-1 in the City Eastern League, tied for first place with Madison, which has lost to Patrick Henry two out of three times this year.

Last year, Rice tried to be an overpowering pitcher.

“I didn’t have that much confidence in the defense (last year) and I tried for more strikeouts. That didn’t work out that well,” she said.

Rice has improved her strength by lifting weights and added a couple of new pitches to her repertoire that totals seven pitches.

“She’s not an overpowering pitcher,” Ferguson said. “She doesn’t have a lot of strikeouts. She has good location, gets the ball down and keeps the ball in play. She’ll get the strikeout when she needs it.”

Said Rice: “(Batters) eventually time fast pitchers. People hit fast pitches. . . . I pitch mostly junk.”

Rice’s older sister, Bonnie, pitched at Patrick Henry and then at San Diego State for two years before transferring to Louisiana Tech, where she is a senior. Terri has accepted a scholarship to attend Utah State.

Rice was named the outstanding player in the Orange Glen tournament, which Patrick Henry won with a 2-0 victory over Madison in the finals. She was named to the all-tournament team in the Hilltop tournament in which Patrick Henry finished second. As a junior, she was named to the all-league team.

Although Rice has been playing softball since she was 8, she has yet to be on a championship team.

“I really want to win this year,” she said.

Terri Rice Patrick Henry High Sport: Softball. Height, Weight, Class: 5-10, 133, Senior. Last Week: Pitched a three-hitter in a 1-0 victory over Madison and a one-hitter in a 12-0 win over Morse.