Accomplished high school softball players Victoria Sobota, Ronnie Rittie and Megan Tracey are putting their skills to good use this summer, having standout seasons for the Maryland Stars 16-and-under team.
The good news is that pitcher Sobota (Franklin) and infielders Rittie (Owings Mills) and Tracey (Mount de Sales) are beginning to attract attention from college scouts.
"Their play has really opened some doors for them," Stars coach Brad Speierman said, noting that college scouts frequently watch the team's games. "They are rising juniors. This is a big time for recruiting them. We have already been to one big showcase (tournament), and we have a couple more coming up over the last part of the season."
Of the three, Sobota, who is expected to take over as the No. 1 pitcher at Franklin next season from her graduated sister Mary, plays the biggest role for the 15-11-2 Stars.
The Reisterstown resident is 6-3 with a 1.51 ERA and has struck out 47 batters in 69 innings. Her best performance came against the Olney Cougars in the title game of the Amateur Softball Association Maryland State Championship.
Sobota sparked the Stars to a come-from-behind, 3-2 victory when she came on in relief and pitched six shutout innings.
"She is a fierce competitor," Speierman said. "She has games where she is just untouchable when she has three pitches working. She is amazing at bringing it inside-out."
Speierman predicts Sobota could have a better high school career than her sister, arguably Baltimore County's best pitcher the past two season with a 33-4 record and six no-hitters.
"I think she could step up and have even more of an impact than her sister," said Speierman, who coaches softball at Hammond High. "Tori has been able to follow in Mary's footsteps and learn a lot from watching Mary. And Tori is such a strong athlete. I think she has the ability to go even beyond where Mary was."
Third baseman Rittie, who also hails from Reisterstown, and Owings Mills resident Tracey, a shortstop, are supporting Sobota well offensively and defensively.
Rittie is batting .304 with an on-base percentage of .443; Tracey is hitting .293 with a .463 on-base mark.
The infielders' defense is more important to Sobota than their hitting. Sobota said she likes to stand back and watch them make spectacular plays.
"When I am pitching, I feel very confident to have Ronnie at third and Megan at shortstop," Sobota said. "I know both of them will dive for anything. They put 110 percent effort into every play."