Edison Top Gun softball squad competes in Pony Nationals
Team finishes in Top 20 for second consecutive summer
BY SHAWN LAYTON Staff Writer
For a second straight summer, the Edison Top Gun 18-and-under softball team finished among the top 20 teams at the annual Pony Nationals held in Vienna, Ohio. The team finished last month's tournament ranked No. 17 at the annual college showcase event.

A special highlight of this summer's visit to Ohio was Top Gun's game against the 18U team from Russia. Top Gun lost 3-2, but the outcome mattered little.

"It was a great game," Top Gun head coach Tony Houck said. "Everybody played, and they can tell their friends and family that they got the chance to play against Russia. It was very exciting for the girls and it also provided a good learning experience for our players and coaches."

Houck and his team got an inside look at the way the game is approached on the other side of the globe.

"We learned that the Russian girls live at their respective school during the week and practice softball for five hours a day," Houck said. "The Russian girls go home for weekends and return to school Sunday night to repeat the weekly process. They spend a lot of time playing during the week and are entirely dedicated to the sport."

While Houck's Top Gun players may not spend five hours a day on the diamond, their talent is evident and on par with their Russian counterparts, as seen in the final score between the two teams. Also illustrating the talent level on the Top Gun team is the list of colleges this year's seniors are off to this fall.

Top Gun centerfielder and leadoff hitter Meghan Everett is headed to Dartmouth while catcher Erica Gaeta will attend Cornell this fall. Pitchers Jenna Carmon and Megan Macinaw are headed to Moravian and Fairleigh Dickinson, respectively, while second baseman Nicole Colineri is off to Kutztown. Shortstop Pam Sellers will attend East Stroudsburg.

"All of this year's seniors have been amazing players," Houck said. "Many have been with the team for three years, and they're headed to a nice mix of colleges. They will be tough to replace, but the process is already under way."

Top Gun will wrap up the summer with tryouts for next year's teams. Players interested in playing for 23-andunder, 18-and-under, 16-and-under, and 14-and-under teams can contact Houck at t.houck@pony.org or visit the Web site at www.topgunsoftball.org.

Also on tap for this summer is Top Gun's annual charity tournament. The event will take place at Singley Field in Hillsborough on Sept. 13 and raise funds for the Embrace Kids Foundation in New Brunswick, formerly known as Children's Institute for Cancer and Blood Disorders. Now in its fifth year holding the event, Edison Top Gun has helped raised $25,500 for the foundation. This year's event coincides with National Childhood Cancer Awareness month.

"The tournament always brings in quality teams such as the Harleyville Thunderbirds from Pennsylvania and the Jersey Outlaws from Deptford," Houck said. "It isn't about the competition, though. It's about having fun and helping out."