by Marshal Manlove
editor

  Sussex Central head coach John Wells led the Gold All-Star team over Hodgson's Jack Short's Blue team to an 8-3 win at the Georgetown Little League Complex.
  Both number one draftees for each team won the games MVP awards, Dana Travis for the Blue, and Betsy Lecates for the Gold.
  Travis, from St. Mark's, entered the game in relief in the 7th inning. She allowed three hits, but struck out seven and also had a single in two at-bats.
  Lecates, from Sussex Central, struck out six in her three innings of shutout relief and also drove in two runs with two singles. Lecates received the downstate 2000 Delaware Sports Athlete of the Year award in a special surprise presentation before the game, and then also received her third first-team all-state plaque shortly thereafter.
  Travis also picked up her first-team all-state award along with the other members of the all-state first team. 
  Janice Savage from Caesar Rodney pitched the first three innings for the blue. She struck out four while allowing three runs. Lecates and Christine Cariello from St. Mark's singled in runs in the first, and Middletown's Lauren Shaw drove one in for the Gold in the third.
  Blue struck back for two in their half of the second against Gold starter Lisa Scanlon from Glasgow. Cape's Patricia Inhof tripled to rightfield to lead off the inning and scored on a wild pitch. Hodgson's Nancy Novack reached first base on the same wild pitch as she struck out and beat the throw to first. She scored later on a Teri Mangini (Glasgow) single.
  Gold erupted for four runs in the fourth inning off of Hodgson's Annie Price who was the victim of a misplayed flyball that ended up being a two run triple for Padua's Kristin Segner. Shaneeda Johnson (Smyrna) drove in Segner and Scanlon helped her own cause with an RBI single to close the scoring in the inning.
  Price struck out two in her stint that also included the other Lecates RBI single.
  Smyrna's Laura Vodvarka pitched the last three innings for Gold and struckout two and walked four. There was a steady drizzle all evening that caused some wildness and some difficulty holding onto pitches for the catchers. First team all-stater Julie Parseghian from Cape Henlopen was one who had a rough time, allowing four consecutive passed balls in the seventh inning which gave Blue their last run of the evening.
  Deena Kenney from Delmar was 2-2 and was hit by a pitch for Gold; Cariello had three hits including a double; St. Mark's Tini Scherer had a hit' Sandy Samsel from Sussex Central had two hits.
For the Bllue, Kristy Vodvarka from Polytech had two hits; Jennifer Hudson from Polytech had a triple; and Hodgson's Nancy Novack and Andrea Slifer had a hit apiece.

All 16 members of the first team all-state team were present to accept their awards including Brandywine junior centerfielder Katie Stevenson. Stevenson, a .328 hitter during the year for the 13-5 semifinalist Bulldogs, made the drive down to Georgetown from North Wilmington during the middle of studying for final exams the next day. "I wasn't expecting the award and was very surprised," she said, "but I was real excited."

  Hodgson's Andrea Kendall summed up best what most of the senior all-stars in attendance had to say about playing in their last high school game. "Its very exciting. The most exciting part is the fact that the enemies you play during the season can become friends so quickly."
  Kendall had to sit next to two Mt. Pleasant Green Knights, whose victory over Hodgson in the last week of the season cost the Silver Eagles a chance to make the state tournament for the first time. "It was kind of awkward at first," she said of seeing Andrea Schlezes, Tara Ganderton and Knight Coach Dina Orpello, "but its a good experience. She (Orpello) kind of smiled at me when I looked over at her, so its all ok."
  Kendall is headed to Cecil Community College on a basketball scholarship where she will be studying computer programming beginning in the fall.