Softball Tournament Features Local Hometown Athlete.

A decorated athlete, all-star student, and local girl came back to participate in a pitching demonstration and fundraiser last Saturday.  You can learn more Michelle Gascoigne and the fundraiser in the article below.

It’s OK to “throw like a girl” if you can pitch like Michelle Gascoigne.

Not only is she one of the most decorated Benicia High School athletes, Gascoigne pitched a perfect game Feb. 10, 2011, for the University of Oklahoma softball team.

How does she do it? Folks who want to see her technique can do so Saturday in Community Park during the inaugural Firefighters 1186 Charitable One-Pitch Softball Tournament and Barbecue.

Gascoigne, currently in town to visit her parents, Gary and Lorri Gascoigne, is preparing to enter her senior year at the Norman, Okla., university where she’s majoring in elementary education.

When she learned about the charity fundraiser, which will help victims of fires and other disasters, she decided to “pitch in” — literally.

Gascoigne needed permission from OU to participate, but was anxious to share her talent at the firefighters’ charity event.

She said she developed an affinity for community involvement through her participation in OU’s Student Athletic Advisory Committee, of which she’ll be president this fall. “I’m increasingly involved, and increasing my love for it,” she said.

Gascoigne’s love of softball, coincidentally, started in the same park at which she’ll give her pitching demonstration.

Like other activities at the tournament, the demonstration will give spectators an opportunity to fill a firefighter boot with donations. Watching players, dining on barbecue, getting your face painted — all will be done near the familiar, large boots that firefighters use to collect contributions.

Members of Firefighters Local 1186 decided to organize the event to raise money for the families and other victims of fires and other calamities.

Vallejo Fire Department firefighter-paramedic Jason Welsh said members of his and other fire departments know how to extinguish fires and handle other disasters, but have wanted to help the victims left behind to deal with the aftermath when fire trucks and emergency vehicles pull away.

Community Park was where Gascoigne first learned how to play softball at age 5. By the time she was 7, she told her parents she wanted to be a pitcher.

Her love for the game has never waned.

“I had a good coach who taught me good mechanics,” she said.

Being a left-hander gave her an edge, but it was her training that helped her stick with the game. She cultivated a “short memory” that let her get past a bad throw and focus on her next pitch.

She also learned what to do when things aren’t going well in a game.

“You don’t always have your good stuff,” she said. “But you learn to win when you don’t have your best stuff.” The key? “Being crafty!”

Her parents are proud that their 21-year-old daughter has continued her success. “She is Benicia High School’s most decorated player,” her father said. She played basketball, volleyball and other sports at the school, not just softball.

She was chosen the 2009 Female Athlete of the Year; the previous year she was the Softball Player of the Year.

Gascoigne helped her team reach sectional playoffs for four seasons, and she was chosen the most valuable player each time. She finished her Benicia High School career with 1,026 strikeouts and an earned-run average of 0.34. She had 52 shutouts in high school.

Meanwhile, she maintained a 4.0 grade point average her junior and senior years, and made the Principal’s Honor Roll seven of eight semesters.

Over the last three years Gascoigne has made her mark at OU in much the same way she did in Benicia.

She was named to the 2011 Academic All-Big 12 first team, and her perfect game — only the seventh in the university’s history — gave OU an 8-0, five-inning win over Appalachian State.


For more information see the Benicia Herald.