Teays Physical Therapy Center, Inc. is pleased to present this week’s “Diamond Gamer of the Week” awards to Arik Sikula from Hurricane High School and Brittany Harrison from Poca High School.
The Hurricane High School Redskins boys’ baseball team have had a tremendous start to the 2007 season. Currently standing with a record of 4-0, the Redskins have shutout their opponents without giving up a run this year. Much of their success has to do with the play of senior pitcher/third baseman Arik Sikula. Last week in an 11-0 win over Spring Valley, Arik mowed down the opposing team. In his first trip to the plate, Arik hit a two-run homerun to get his team started on the scoreboard. When the game was over, Arik had went six innings, allowed only one hit, and had struck out 16 Spring Valley batters.
When asked about his success, Arik says, “A lot of my success has to do with hard work and dedication. The Teays Physical Therapy Center’s Potential Plus pre-season baseball program help me in my conditioning for this season. Also our hard work in the weight room, and my coaches’ programs have helped us get to point we need to be.” Head Coach Billy Jo Hicks agrees with his star athlete. “We expected to be competitive at this point in the season, but we didn’t expect to win like this. Our pitching has been tremendous, not only by Arik, but also by our other three main guys.”
Sikula is not only intelligent on the field, but off the field as well, where he carries a 3.83 GPA. When asked about his goals for the upcoming season Arik says, “Basically, we all want one thing, and that is a state championship. Our goal though, is to get to the state tournament, and then go from there.”
Coach Hicks compares his star athlete to major league baseball pitcher Roger Clemens. “Arik has that bulldog type mentality, where if you get too close to the plate his is going to back you off. His work ethic is unmatched. That is why he reminds me of “The Rocket””, says Coach Hicks. Arik also likens himself to the strong armed Clemens. Arik says, “My size is somewhat close to Clemens’, except he is a little bit taller. I feel like my work ethic matches me to him, and hopefully I will go as far as he has someday.”
The Poca High School Lady Dots softball team has had a slow beginning to the 2007 season. The Dots started at 0-4, and things looked bleak. That, however, was not something that sophomore pitcher Brittany Harrison took lightly.
Last week, in an 11-1 win over Tolsia, the Dots picked up their first victory of the season. That victory was due in part to the play of Brittany, who threw a no-hitter to lead her team to victory. She also had two hits in the cause, and fanned 12 Tolsia batters.
When asked about her success Brittany says, “I feel like I warmed up well, and the team played together. This allowed us to come out and show our true potential, which we haven’t shown in the first four games.”
When asked about the team’s success, Brittany points accolades toward her teammates. “I feel like our team played well and came together in this win. Our first couple games didn’t show our true team togetherness. In this win I think we finally realized that we can play together and play competitive,” says Brittany.
Brittany and the rest of the Lady Dots’ softball team have high expectations for the post-season. Even though starting slow, they feel this win over Spring Valley may turn their season around for the better. Brittany says, “Even though we are only 1-5 right now, I feel like five of those losses have been to really good softball teams. Now we have a win under our belts, and they say the hardest one to get is the first one. Maybe we can turn this around for the better and hopefully make it to the state tournament.”
Brittany not only shows her intelligence on the field, but off the field as well. She carries a 3.9 GPA in the classroom, which helps her on the diamond as well. Brittany’s favorite softball player is former Arizona State standout Jennie Finch. “I like Jennie Finch because she is a really good pitcher. She carries herself off the field, and that is what I want to do,” says Brittany.
Look for Arik, Brittany, and other local area high school athletes to be named next week's Diamond Gamer of the Week.
