PORT ANGELES — Softball is down to its final strike at Peninsula College.
The women’s sports program, created 10 years ago along with men’s soccer, is in danger of being replaced by a women’s soccer team after the 2010 season.
Team members were informed of the possibility during a meeting with college athletic director Rick Ross and Pirates head coach Jim Cheney a week ago.
Many, including sophomore Colleen Murphy-Carey, came away with the feeling that the move was “imminent.”
“There are a lot of pretty angry and concerned freshmen,” said Murphy-Carey, a Port Angeles High School alumna.
“There are freshmen that are wondering where they want to go next year. Part of the reason they stayed in the community was to play softball [for Peninsula].”
Ross said the decision on the program’s fate probably will be made by the end of the month. It is not a done deal, he said.
“I think we’re in the process right now of discussing it, and it’s a fairly deliberate process,” Ross said.
“We’re gathering data and gathering feedback from the campus and the community. We want to hear from everyone who has something to say.”
Murphy-Carey and her teammates did not get that feeling at the team meeting on Jan. 28, she said.
“It’s not like they asked our opinion,” said Murphy-Carey, whose mother, Kathy Murphy-Carey, is an associate dean and one of three college administrators involved in the decision.
“They just told us.”
Added freshman teammate Chelsea Ramblin, also of Port Angeles, “I almost cried. It felt like the decision is already made when they were talking to us.”
Administrative review
Ross said he, Associate Dean Murphy-Carey and college Vice President Jack Huls will review information gathered during the next couple of weeks before making a recommendation to President Tom Keegan.
“There would be a final decision [from Keegan] within the next month,” Ross said. “It could be even sooner.”
If, in fact, the softball program is eliminated, there is a chance women’s soccer would field a team next fall alongside the men.
Whether or not Peninsula would have to field a team during that school year to be Title IX compliant is uncertain.
There are three factors, according to Ross, that will guide the decision:
• Whether the program can sustain the high quality desired.
• How many students it brings to the campus.
• The effect the program has on the athletic budget.
The fact that a new artificial-turf field being constructed at the college won’t have a separate softball diamond as originally planned will not be a determining factor, according to Ross.
“It’s a compromise to have both programs on the field, but it’s still doable,” Ross said. “We talked about that as part of this [decision], but it really isn’t a driving reason.
“We’re in a hang-on-for-dear-life position. So I think that’s when it kind of prompts you to look at what you’re doing and all of your programs.”
The softball team has consistently fielded more Peninsula athletes than any other at the college.
Ten of 12 players on last year’s roster were from the area, while this year 11-of-15 expected to suit up hail from the Peninsula, including one from Port Townsend.
The soccer and basketball programs, on the other hand, tend to draw a large majority of its athletes from off the Peninsula.
That is one of the things Colleen Murphy-Carey cites as a reason to keep the program around.
“None of the other sports teams has that community connection that softball brings to the college,” she said.
“We have a good solid group of local girls. Out of all three sports that are played at PC, the local community is represented most on the softball team.
“It’s interesting to have [athletes from other areas] come to our community and share their insights, but it’s not a community sport like softball.”
Up-and-down results
The one thing the softball program doesn’t have in comparison to both the men’s basketball and soccer programs is sustained success.
While those men’s teams have both consistently reached the postseason, the Pirates softball team has done so only twice in nine seasons.
During the past two seasons, the Pirates have a cumulative record of 12-64.
“We have a great coaching staff right now and we’ve got some really great kids in the program,” Ross said.
“That makes this a really difficult and emotional discussion.
“If you can take the people and the personalities out of the equation . . . from a program standpoint, there’s some logical reasons why we might take a crack at women’s soccer.”
Men’s and women’s soccer both compete in the fall.
Colleges that have teams for both genders typically play doubleheaders, much like in basketball.
“It’s not like we’re up here trying to point fingers at anyone,” Colleen Murphy-Carey said.
“We just want to get it out in the community.
“The decision was kind of made in an exclusive group. We want the community to decide. If the community wants a women’s soccer team, then I’m all for it.
“But we who grew up here think it’s a softball community, not a soccer community.”
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Sports writer Matt Schubert can be reached at 360-417-3526 or at matt.schubert@peninsuladailynews.com.