Lassies' Nyman signs on to pitch for Temple University
Thursday, November 20, 2008 12:16 AM PST
By Rick McCorkle
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E-mail this articleOne visit to the Temple University campus in Philadelphia, and Crystal Nyman knew it was where she belonged.
“The campus is in the city, but when you’re on campus it’s not like you’re in the city,” Nyman said. “There’s a lot of opportunity in Philadelphia, so I felt it was somewhere where I can achieve a lot.”
Nyman, who has already achieved numerous accolades as a softball pitcher at Kelso High School, inked a letter of intent on Tuesday morning in front of about a hundred friends, family, teammates and school faculty to play at Temple beginning next fall.
“Crystal’s a great kid with a great work ethic,” Kelso athletic director Ray Cattin said. “She’s a very gifted individual who is successful in anything she tries. She has a great attitude, and will do great things at Temple.”
Nyman and her parents sat behind a table adorned with a Temple University shirt along with cherry-red and white balloons on the stage of the school’s auditorium. A congratulatory cake and pictures of Nyman sat on an adjacent table, and her familiar #17 Kelso High softball jersey was draped over the podium.
Prior to the letter of intent signing, Kelso coach Mike McMahon read a list of Nyman’s diamond accomplishments.
“Crystal has been on the varsity team for three years, and this might be the year she gets a chance to be a starter,” McMahon said with a chuckle. “The hard work she puts in is evident in her play. She has the academic and athletic skills to push her both on the field and in the classroom. We expect her to be as successful at Temple as she has in Kelso.”
Nyman has mastered six pitches, the fastball, curve, drop, change, screw and rise. She had a 0.48 earned run average as a sophomore, which she shaved down to 0.16 as a junior which included three consecutive no-hitter during the regular season, and a perfect game with 17 strikeouts in a 1-0 district tournament win over Mount Rainier.
She also hit .353 as a junior, was named the Greater St. Helens 3A League Most Valuable Player, and earned all-state honorable mention honors.
“The summer softball team I play on goes to New Jersey for a tournament every year, and my summer coach told me that the coaches at Temple was interested in me,” Nyman said. “The Temple coaches came to one of our games, and they followed me around during the tournament.”
The Owls of Temple compete in the Atlantic-10 Conference in softball, and will be led this spring by first-year coach Joe DiPietro. Temple plays its home games at the Ambler Sports Complex, located on the school’s Ambler campus across town from its main campus.
“When I talked to the coach he seemed like a really nice guy,” Nyman said. “After looking at where the school was located, I decided there wasn’t anything better, so I scheduled a visit and went to the campus. I fell in love with it and everything about it.”
Former Temple coach Casey Dickson had signed seven players for the 2009 roster, including pitcher Lauren Spoo of Florida, prior to DiPietro’s arrival in July.
“He’s a new coach and the recruits there aren’t his,” Nyman said of DiPietro. “They have a good team but they need pitchers. He told me he liked my work ethic, and as long as I work hard and do the job I’ll have a place on the team.”
Nyman used a glowing, blue-lighted pen as she signed her name on the letter of intent before passing it to her parents for their signatures.
“I know it’ll be hard to be that far away from home but the distance doesn’t bother me,” said Nyman, who plans to study either sports medicine or nursing. “It’s just a plane ride home. It’ll be hard for awhile, but I think it’ll be good for me to have a chance to spend the next 4-5 years in a different atmosphere.”
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