Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Livewires headed to softball world series in Tennessee

A quartet of Prescott girls are part of one of the best 10-and-under softball teams in the nation.

These girls are members of the Livewire fast pitch softball team, a squad that has already earned an invitation to the World Series, even though the season hasn't begun.

The girls, Shelly Glass, Samantha Turbeville, Daisha Collier and Jami Godwin, were on last year's team that went 23-4 and didn't lose to any teams from Arkansas. Glass plays shortstop, while Turbeville anchors first. Collier roams the outfield, while Godwin pitches.

The team played four games in the Arkansas state tourney, posting four consecutive wins and giving up but one run. The Livewires beat Ashdown 8-1 in the opener, whipped Fayetteville 6-0, followed this with a 4-0 win over Conway in the semifinals, then beat Conway a second time, 2-0, for the title.

In all, the Livewires entered four tournaments and won three. They captured the Southwest Arkansas Back to School event in Hope, win the Texarkana Fall Classic and took the Beebe Blast Invitational.

From there, the team went to Texas, where the girls came in third in the Texas state tilt out of 23 teams.

They are coached by Wayne Glass and Mike Godwin, and are currently the top rated team in the nation, based on points and power. The points, Glass said, help with the series seeding.

At this level, the pitcher's mound is 34 feet from home plate. Glass said the pitches can get up to 45 miles per hour in this distance, which doesn't give the batters much time to decide and react.

One of the highlights of last season, Glass said, occurred when the opposing team had a runner on third. The batter dropped a bunt down the third base line. Godwin fielded the ball, looked the runner back and fired to first for an out. The runner on third took off for home, but was gunned down by Turbeville, for an unusual pitcher-to-first-to-home double-play.

The Livewires will start their season in February, and do some traveling during the year. They are scheduled to play all over Arkansas, in North Texas, North Louisiana and Tennessee. They've qualified to play in the World Series in Knoxville, Tenn., in July.

Last season the team finished eighth in the World Series, winning four games and losing two. The series was played in Thompson, Ga.

Glass said the Livewires are made up of players from Prescott, Spring Hill, Hope, De Queen, Blevins, Lockesburg and Nashville.