Ali Neace

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Logan High School softball coach Randy Robinette has turned out some fine players over the years.

Many have gone on to play at the next level.

Many of those are pitchers.

Ali Neace was certainly one of the better pitchers to come around in recent memory.

The former Lady Cats hurler is still active in the game as she’s the junior ace pitcher at Division II Alderson Broaddus College.

After a successful 2012 season with the Battlers, the right-hander hopes to have another good spring as the new softball campaign is just around the corner.

Last year as a sophomore, Neace ended up being one of the top pitchers in the WVIAC as she was 12-7 with a 2.38 ERA. Neace pitched 105.2 innings and allowed just 28 earned runs and 88 hits to go along with her 87 strikeouts.

Neace pitched 11 complete games and had five shutouts while allowing 13 doubles and two triples while holding opponents to just a .221 batting average. At the end of the season she was named honorable mention all-conference.

Alderson Broaddus, located in Philippi, W.Va., went 24-23 last season, including a 13-15 mark in the WVIAC.

The Battlers are in a transition year in that longtime head coach J.D. Long has retired after 16 seasons in charge.

The new coach is New York native Shawn Bowers.

Bowers comes to A-B after most recently serving as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Newberry College. While at Newberry he was in charge of the outfield and hitting, as well as all in game defensive strategies.

Prior to his stint at Newberry, Bowers spent three seasons at as the head coach at Agnes College.

Bowers got his coaching start at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., where he served as the assistant softball coach for four years. During his stint at RPI the team reached the the postseason all four seasons and reached the NCAA Tournament.

“I am looking forward to the opportunity here at AB. There is a lot of excitement with what the school is doing and I am glad to be a part of it,” Bowers said. “I am excited to be named the new head coach and am eager to get started with the team. Our program will be built around the four cornerstones of hard work, pride, dedication and commitment. This will be both on the field and in the classroom. From the players to the coaching staff we will compete to the final out, if we do all of these things then we will be successful.”

Alderson Broaddus is also led by senior Vanessa Bodily, who hit .317 last year and was second on the team in RBI (26) and homers (7) while also earning honorable mention accolades.

The Battlers were picked to finish seventh this season by the coaches in the 14-team WVIAC.

AB is scheduled to open the season this weekend with the Shaw University Softball Challenge in Raleigh, N.C. The opener is Friday against East Stroudsburg.

From March 9-16, the Battlers are slated to play 13 games in Clermont, Fla., over Spring Break.