Softball: Gettins chasing Weber's crown

STATES' BEST: Courtney Gettins on the mound for her Florida SouthWestern State College Buccaneers. PHOTO/WWW.Captivephotons.com

IT'S early days but Hawke's Bay softballer Courtney Gettins is on track to rival Gina Weber as New Zealand's greatest female pitcher.

Gettins, 19, added two more impressive entries to her softball CV this week. She was named Fastpitch News (FPN) National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division One Pitcher of the Year in the United States on Thursday and 24 hours later gained an all-American selection award by the USA national office for the code.

These are the latest of numerous awards the two-time Ngati Kahungunu Junior Sportsperson of the Year collected after her first season with the Florida SouthWestern State College Buccaneers team.

"I'm pretty stoked. I've got to thank Florida SouthWestern for all their support," Gettins said in a text home to her mother and former White Sox infielder Charmaine Gettins after she heard of her selections.

A White Sox player since 2014, Gettins, also earned FPN first team All-American honours.

"It's pretty amazing when you think about where she has come from and the number of pitchers she was up against. There are 150 division one junior colleges over 50 states," her mother explained.

She was referring to the fact Hawke's Bay didn't have a premier women's competition in her final two summers before heading to the states and her Dodgers club side had to play in the Hutt Valley competition which is the comp they played in before winning the national interclub title in 2014.

Gettins was outstanding all season and was huge in FSW's run to the NJCAA National Tournament. She pitched every inning in Suncoast Conference play, all but one game at the FCSAA State Tournament and every inning of the national tournament, including the 15 inning loss to eventual national champions Butler.

The Suncoast Conference Pitcher of the Year finished the season with a 39-wins, 6-loss record, with three saves and a 1.49 ERA, while limiting the opposition to a .205 batting average. She earned Region 8 Pitcher of the Week honours on four occasions during the season and NJCAA Division I Pitcher of the Week honours once.

Gettins' performance during her rookie season ranked her among the United States best in multiple categories. She led the nation in innings pitched (296.1), wins (39), complete games (37) and games started (44), while ranking third in strikeouts (284) and 13th in ERA (1.49). In conference play, the two-time Junior World Series player 19-1 with a 0.62 ERA, while holding opponents to a .162 batting average.

One of four Hawke's Bay-based players in the White Sox team which will play in next month's World Series in Canada, Gettins finished the season with a 53-16 overall record, secured her school's first-ever Suncoast Conference Championship with a 19-1 mark in conference play, won the District H Championship and locked up the school's first berth to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I National Tournament by finishing as the runner-ups at the FCSAA State Tournament. The Buccaneers won one game at the NJCAA National Tournament in St. George, Utah before being eliminated on day two of the event.

Gettins mother said her daughter hasn't had time to focus on next month's World Series. Since the Utah tournament she has been concentrating on studies to compensate for her absence from school during the July 15-24 World Series and buildup tournaments.

A 2000 Olympic Games representative, Weber played at four world championships. She won gold in 1982, silver in 1990 and bronze in 1986.

If Gettins is going to rival Weber she will have to help the White Sox win an Olympic Games medal and this could happen in the wake of news this week the International Olympic Committee will recommend softball and baseball will be reinstated to the Olympics for the 2020 Games in Japan. Women's softball hasn't been played at the Olympics since 2008.