I've been watching a lot of softball now that the weather has gotten warmer, and I must say, the girls on the Saline and Milan teams are downright amazing. First off, there's Hornet freshman phenom pitcher Kristina Zalewski. First off, there's no way she's a freshman. She can't be, can she? What a talent. Gosh, when I was her age I was still struggling putting on my shoulder pads for football, let alone playing for the varsity squad. And second, how does she throw so fast? She looks like your typical teenager in her uniform and then once she enters the circle, she turns into a power-pitching, strikeout whiz.

And over in Milan, I'm amazed with two things at the moment -- the ease with which Lani Ernst fields her position and also how in the heck left-handed lead-off hitter Kat Hoffman makes contact with the ball. Ernst is so silky smooth at shortstop, it looks like her glove has some sort of softball magnet in it, attracting balls hit her way right into her mitt. I covered Chelsea All-State shortstop Stephanie Crews (three-year starter at CMU) back in 2002-2003 and Ernst reminds me a lot of the former Bulldog standout. While Hoffman, also an oustanding pitcher, amazes me with her bat. Well, her bat and the way she uses it as she bails out of the batter's box on her way to first base and another single. It appears as if Hoffman is halfway down the first base line before she makes contact with the ball. It must be frustrating for an opposing infielder to know even if you field the ball cleanly, if it's hit your way, there's practically no way you're throwing out the speedy Hoffman.

It'll be interesting to see how far both clubs can go in this year's state tournament. With players like Zalewski, Ernst and Hoffman, both teams should be a tough out for any foe come state tourney time.