Tracy Press

The Chinese national softball team made a stop in Tracy to take on local college players in a five-game tuneup for the upcoming Beijing Olympics.

Zhou Yin fires a pitch for the Chinese national softball team in an exhibition game at the Tracy Sports Complex on Tuesday. The visit gave local college players a chance to play against one of the top contenders for gold in Beijing. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press

The five-game series of exhibitions against the Chinese national women’s softball team was just what the local players expected, and they expected to see one of the world’s top international squads in action.

"They’re even better than I remembered," said former West High pitcher Kellee Wilson. "Their pitcher is really good at changing speeds. You’ve just got to stay on top of your game the whole time."

Wilson played first base for the local side, made up of college players from around the area. She said some of the local players, including her, also had the chance to face the Chinese team last year.

Wilson now plays for the University of the Pacific and the Nor Cal Heat, a women’s travel team. The Heat and the Gold Rush provided the players who faced off against Team China for two games Monday. Team China shut out the local women, 6-0, in the first game. China also won the second Monday game, 1-0, and won a nine-inning match Tuesday, 6-1.

Pitcher Marissa Drewrey, who plays for University of California, Berkeley, and attended Oakdale High, said Pac-10 softball prepared her for the batters she would face Monday. But the Chinese players were prepared to show their hosts how potential Olympic medalists hit the ball.

"They place stuff everywhere," she said. "They know exactly where their bunts are going to go and what their slaps will do.

"It’s not intimidating, but it’s cool to play against these high-caliber teams."

With perfect balance, Xin Min Hong swings away during a Tuesday exhibition game. Glenn Moore/Tracy Press

"With all of these games, we’re preparing for the Olympics," Yang said.

Since being gathered six months ago, the Chinese women have also played in Canada, Australia and Japan.

"Next week, we’ll be back in China," Yang said. "Then, we hope to invite some teams to come to China."

City of Tracy recreation supervisor Floyd Lewis, who also acted as manager for the local team, said the city got the chance to host the Chinese team after USA Softball put the word out that the team wanted to play college-level teams in Northern California.

"I felt it would be great for the community to see this level of softball, so I jumped at the opportunity," he said.

Monday’s exhibition games drew a big crowd of players and fans. Mario Moreno, one of the directors of the All-American Sports Academy travel teams, said folks got to see one of the favorites to top the medal podium — along with the U.S. team — in the August Olympics.

"China has always been one of the teams that can come close to competing with USA," he said. "Their pitching is phenomenal. Their pitchers can put the ball where they want it at the speed they want it."

He added that the local players also are the best that colleges and travel teams have to offer, so fans got to see some good competition.

"This is exciting for Tracy."

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written by TracyGuy , June 23, 2008

Thank you Floyd Lewis for helping to bring this exciting softball game to Tracy. It was a memorable evening.