Two Pitchers Walk Away From Softball

Two of the county’s top senior pitchers, Mater Dei’s Colleen Boddy and Villa Park’s Tammy Kincaid, confirmed Friday they had quit their softball teams.

Boddy, who was 26-5 last year and had the second-most victories in a single season in Orange County history, left the third-ranked Monarchs Wednesday, saying she had been alienated for weeks by players and the coaching staff.

Boddy, 18, who pitched a county-high 197 innings last year (matching Marina’s Marcy Crouch), pitched only 6 1/3 innings this season and had no decisions after the arrival of senior transfer Brooke Hofstetter and freshman Marissa Young, who is considered one of the best freshman players in the country.

“I think it’s an unfortunate situation and I wish the best for Colleen,” Mater Dei Coach Doug Myers said. “What we tried to do was spell out what her role was going to be, and it might not have been what she wanted. When you think about situations, you don’t think about just one player, but what’s best for the team.”

Boddy, a Times Orange County second-team selection last year whose pitching helped Mater Dei reach the Southern Section final, has already made an oral commitment to attend Connecticut.

Kincaid, who has already signed a letter of intent to attend Arkansas, became the second player in four days to quit the Villa Park softball program.

Kincaid, 5-4 with a 0.34 earned-run average and 92 strikeouts in 62 innings, cited what she believed was a lack of respect by first-year Coach Robert Melendrez toward her and her teammates as the reason for leaving the program.

That was the same reason cited by the family of Jessica Sammons, a junior outfielder, who quit on Tuesday: “She won’t put up with people who mistreat her,” said Sammons’ mother, Melinda.

Melendrez said he was baffled by the criticism.

“I don’t know what they define as a lack of respect,” he said, “but I’m sorry to see them go.”