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The Athletes of the Week - one boy and one girl - are chosen from teams in the WPIAL and City League by the Post-Gazette scholastic sports staff. Lee Fritz, Waynesburg - Jackie Ridgers, Baldwin
Thursday, April 20, 2000
Lee Fritz
SCHOOL: Waynesburg
WHO IS HE? A 6-1 junior who is a pitcher/center fielder for the Raiders' baseball team. Fritz also was the starting quarterback and safety for the school's football team and led the Raiders to the WPIAL Class AA Championship.
THIS SEASON: Fritz is 4-0 with 33 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched. He has allowed 24 hits and seven walks. He's hitting .581 (18 for 31) with three home runs, 13 RBIs and nine runs scored. Last week, Fritz pitched a perfect game (six innings) against Beth Center in the Raiders' 11-0 victory. The Bulldogs only managed to put one ball in play as Fritz struck out 15 and had two foul outs.
CAREER: Fritz is a three-year starter in baseball. Last year, he was 6-2 and hit .425 to help the Raiders win the school's first WPIAL baseball championship. In football this past season, Fritz led the team in rushing with 819 yards on 110 carries and scored 20 touchdowns. He completed 52 of 117 passes for 1,001 yards and nine touchdowns. On defense he had 57 tackles, six interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
BIG DECISIONS: Waynesburg's baseball coach, Chris Haines, said Fritz's summer should be very busy. He will make a decision on what school he will attend and what sport he will play.
"He isn't close to making that choice, but he said he wants to wrap it up before football season begins," Haines said. "And the funny thing is, he won't even talk about it right now. He'll just say, 'During football, football is my favorite sport, and during baseball, baseball is my favorite sport,' and leave it at that. I will say that he has some very tough choices because he has received a lot of interest in both sports."
FAMILY LEGACY: Last year, Lee's older brother Derek was the ace of the Raiders' pitching staff and the starting quarterback for the football team. Derek is a starting pitcher for Fairmont State College. Haines said the success of both players has a lot to do with what they learned at home.
"They are both a lot alike, in that they are humble and respectful and really work hard," Haines said. "Don't get me wrong, they have a lot of talent, but I think the fact that they come from such a quality family is a big reason they are so successful. They were taught the right way to do things, and it shows, because they are both great kids on top of being great athletes."
GOOD STUDENT: Fritz has a 3.91 grade point average.
-- By Paul Zeise
Jackie Rodgers
SCHOOL: Baldwin.
WHO IS SHE? A junior on the track and field team and the best pole-vaulter in the WPIAL.
THE PAST WEEK: Rodgers won the pole vault Saturday at Hempfield's Lady Spartan Invitational. Her winning height of 12 feet is the best in the WPIAL the past two seasons. Last year was the first time girls competed in the pole vault statewide. Rodgers also finished second in the discus at the Lady Spartan Invitational.
CAREER: Rodgers (5 feet 6) joined the track and field team last year and won the WPIAL title by clearing 10 feet.
FINDING A POLE-VAULTER: Rodgers played softball for years and also competed in gymnastics. Last year, Baldwin jumping coach Paul Roth was looking for some girls who might be interested in trying the pole vault, and he approached Baldwin gymnastics coach Karen Kovach about a few candidates. Kovach suggested Rodgers. "They said they wanted a strong girl who could run fast, and I was usually pretty good at vaulting in gymnastics," Rodgers said.
She went to an indoor track and field practice last year, and the rest was history. "I picked up the skills pretty quickly," Rodgers said. "After that, Coach Roth and I just kind of bonded."
Last year, Rodgers had an idea of playing softball and also competing in track and field. She gave up the idea after a few days.
"I would go to softball practice for an hour and then track practice for an hour," Rodgers said. "It was horrible, so I just decided to go with track."
SHOWING VERSATILITY: Besides pole vault and discus, Rodgers competes in the shot put and runs a leg on the 400-meter relay team. It is a rare combination for a track and field athlete.
"I tried the shot put [at the Lady Spartan Invitational], but those girls are just too good for me."
HORSING AROUND: After many track practices, Rodgers can be found riding her horse, "Junebug." She has ridden the horse in some district barrel races. "I usually ride her every day," Rodgers said. "She's in Bethel Park, so it's just right down the road. If I don't go ride her, my mom will ground me."
-- By Mike White
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