JoJo Medina a real power player

[Papa_Bull]

A real power player

JoJo Medina's big swing helped take Chamberlain all the way to the state semis.

By TERRY JONES, Times Correspondent

Published June 11, 2005

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TAMPA - Even with several top college prospects and exceptional players in Hillsborough County, JoJo Medina made the biggest impact on softball this past season.

When she plays first base, runners move with caution. When she is at the plate, pitchers and defensive players look nervous and fans yell, "just walk her."

Medina gives them good cause to yell. Her batting average for the season was .534 and she had 31 RBIs. Medina scored 28 runs, was walked 29 times and had an on-base percentage of .673.

Though she hit only five home runs, she blasted them at key times in big games. In the second inning of the region championship game against tough Lakeland George Jenkins, the Chiefs had two outs and a runner on first in a scoreless game. Then Medina blasted one over the leftfield fence. With a 2-0 lead in the fifth, she hit another homer with two runners on to put the game out of reach.

"Her great play on the field has been a big part of the success of this year's team," said coach Bob Diez, whose Chiefs reached the Class 5A semifinals. "We can get more good players, but what can't be replaced in JoJo has been her leadership.

"She is the first on the field and last to stop practicing. She set a hard work ethic that became contagious to the rest of the team. On and off the field and in the classroom, she led this team."

Medina was a four-year starter with the Chiefs. Last summer, she decided to play for the University of South Florida. She said the early selection was made to allow her the freedom to focus on her senior year and final prep softball season.

"I can tell you this, USF is getting one heck of an impact player for the next four years," Diez said.

"With all the exceptionally good softball players in Hillsborough County, it is quite an honor to be selected player of the year," Medina said. "Actually though, if the Chiefs had not done so well this year, I don't think I would have been considered, so I am just representing a lot of super teammates at Chamberlain."

Medina said her individual honor shouldn't overshadow how the team as a whole played.

"When I was made a co-captain (along with Ashley Arcuri) of this team, it was a humbling experience," said Medina, who graduated with a weighted 4.7 grade point average. "There are so many great players here; I consider it one of my most significant personal achievements to help lead them."

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/06/11/Sports/A_real_power_player.shtml

[S p e n c e]

Funky JoJo Medina

[smazza]

is she on steroids

[flsportsfan83]

lol

[Ricky the Bull]

Too bad we couldn't have snagged this local talent:

Hofer's Fairy-Tale Story Just Keeps Getting Better

JOEY JOHNSTON

Published: Jun 11, 2005

She's still a kid.

Sure, Dani Hofer might be the most dominant prep athlete in Tampa Bay area history. Her softball pitching statistics for Palm Harbor University High - 24-0, 21 shutouts, 403 strikeouts, five walks, an 0.08 ERA and only two earned runs allowed as a senior - could make you stop reading immediately.

Huh? Are those real numbers?

They are.

Just ask any of the overwhelmed batters who faced her stuff. Familiar scene: Leadoff hitter, thinking she's going to be plunked by Hofer's sinister curveball, knees buckling, doing a double-take at the optical illusion, a called strike.

Hofer is a softball star. But she's still a kid.

Still someone who makes time to work with senior citizens at a retirement home. Still someone who's excited about her softball future at LSU. Still someone who savors the summer, the visits to Clearwater Beach, rides on the wave runner, just being outdoors. Still someone who enjoys being a friend and a teammate. Still someone who can't wait for Tuesday - her 18th birthday.

That's the delightful part of an athletic life that has suddenly hit warp speed, with so many honors, interviews and banquets. Wednesday, while doing a live interview on the set of ESPN2's ``Cold Pizza,'' Hofer was named Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year, marking the first time that award went to a player from the East Coast.

``It was a total surprise, a total shock,'' Hofer said.

Maybe to her.

Not to everyone else.

In Special Company

Since the mid-1980s, Gatorade has named national award winners in high school sports. Only three other area athletes - Tampa's Gary Sheffield, Seminole's Casey Kotchman and Sarasota's Doug Million, all baseball players - had received the honor.

Overall, Gatorade's list of national winners includes Lisa Leslie, Peyton Manning, Emmitt Smith, Marion Jones, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Alex Rodriguez ... and now, Dani Hofer. In July, Hofer will be flown to Los Angeles and the ESPY Awards, where she could receive Gatorade's overall female athlete of the year award.

``Dani has worked for everything she has received,'' Palm Harbor coach Chuck Poetter said. ``She deserves every reward. She's pretty special. But she would finish a game and then it's, `Who do we play next?' There wasn't too much dwelling on her accomplishments.''

When Hofer defeated Chamberlain in a 1-0, 10-inning epic Class 5A state semifinal - a two-hit, one-walk, 22-strikeout performance, by the way - her attitude was typical. Who do we play next? That was Melbourne Eau Gallie for the state championship. Hofer fanned 14 batters and was three outs from her 14th career perfect game (only a bloop single prevented that). She ended her prep career (how else?) with a strikeout.

Against Hofer, just putting the ball in play was a moral victory.

``You have to know that somebody's going to get a hit occasionally,'' Hofer said. ``You can't throw a perfect game every time.''

She came close.

She's Going Places

To Hofer, it's simply the game she has played since age 6 and largely learned from her father, Ed, a softball coach and former high school pitcher. And it's a game she'll continue to play for the Clearwater Bombers' travel ball team, then at LSU.

But the game has taken her to some unexpected places. This week's itinerary: Fly to New York with her parents. Take in a Broadway play. Visit Ground Zero. Check out Times Square. See the Statue of Liberty. Appear on ``Cold Pizza.'' Accept the Gatorade award.

Then go outside, to a sidewalk dunk tank. As curious New Yorkers rushed by, Hofer delivered on-target pitches, without warming up, releasing water balloons onto the heads of ``Cold Pizza's'' Jay Crawford, Woody Paige and Dana Jacobsen.

``I might've been more nervous doing that than pitching a game,'' she said, laughing. ``It was something to really remember.''

Her season won't be forgotten, either. Those two earned runs? At an Ohio tournament, against an eventual state champion, an 0- and-2 pitch whacked for a double, then a dink RBI single barely missed by a diving outfielder. Against Seminole, two hits and a bunt in one inning.

That's it.

All season, Hofer allowed only three runners to reach third base.

Softball history.

And in Hofer's mind, it's just that - past history.

``Now I'll be starting a whole new slate [at LSU],'' Hofer said. ``It's like starting all over. I'll have to work to earn whatever I get. It's the next chapter.''

Of an especially nice story.

http://tampatrib.com/Sports/MGBOFN17T9E.html

[The Sheriff]

Cristi will be better than her! Go Bulls! The hell with that girl for going to LSU! She would be regulated to a closing role after Crisiti gets here!

[bulls96go]

would be nice to have had both great pitchers coming here

[Ricky the Bull]

JoJo was named as the Tribune's Hillsborough County Softball Player of the Year.

Congratulations, JoJo!!

Better Than Predicted

By ANWAR S. RICHARDSON arichardson@tampatrib.com

Published: Jun 12, 2005

TAMPA - JoJo Medina made a bold prediction during her freshman season.

After Chamberlain was defeated in the region playoffs, Medina told a reporter she would win a state championship before she graduated. It may have seemed like empty words at the time, but it was a foreshadowing for Medina's bright future.

The following season, Medina was a starter on the Chiefs' state championship team. Her title mission was accomplished, but Medina continued to grow as a player.

Medina had a .544 batting average, 25 runs, 30 RBIs and five home runs this season. Even more impressive, Medina walked 30 times in 68 at-bats, which showed her patience at the plate.

In addition, Medina helped guide Chamberlain to the state semifinals. The Chiefs were defeated by Palm Harbor University, the eventual state champion, but it was Medina's second state championship appearance in three years.

Medina, who signed with the University of South Florida, stopped giving predictions after her freshman season, but a crystal ball was not needed to foresee her being named The Tampa Tribune's Hillsborough County Softball Player of the Year.

``Any player would want to leave [high school] knowing they won a state title. Not a lot of players can say that,'' Medina said. ``I'm happy about how the four years have turned out. I learned from one of the best coaches in the state [bob Diez], and without him, I know I would not have accomplished this much.''

Diez is proud of Medina's effort in asserting herself as the team leader.

``She's always been a leader. She had a great work ethic. JoJo loved to be at practice and she worked harder than most of the kids. During her freshman and sophomore years, she was always the first person there and the last to leave,'' Diez said. ``Her stats are going to be hard to replace, but just her presence, her being there, and what she brings to her team is harder to replace.

``She's always even-keeled. Really steady. Truly unselfish. She wants to win and she will do whatever it takes to win ballgames.''

Medina's maturity was tested this week.

Palm Harbor University pitcher Dani Hofer was named the Gatorade National Softball Player of the Year and she appeared ESPN2's ``Cold Pizza.'' One of Hofer's highlights was striking out Medina, which her friends called to joke with her about. Even Diez gave her a good-natured ribbing for striking out on national television. Though Medina struck out, her future success is quite predictable.

``She's a really mature kid. That's what set her apart. She had good talent, but she was committed,'' Diez said. ``She's going to do great at USF. They are looking forward to having her and as long as she stays healthy, she will be a super player for them.''

http://tampatrib.com/sportsnews/MGBGFOZRU9E.html