BY MATT DIFILIPPO

Staff Writer

The 2012 Underclass Showcase High School Softball Game is a little more than just a game, and that’s the idea.

The game itself begins at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, at St. Joseph’s College. But it’s also a 14-inning game, and the pregame is where the showcase comes in. Each team’s players will do a variety of drills to show off their skill sets in front of college coaches.

Nick Caiazzo, co-owner of The Edge Academy (formerly Frozen Ropes) in Portland, said he was asked by the Maine Softball Association to select the rosters and coordinate the day’s events.

Local players from the East include Cony’s Arika Brochu and Sonja Morse, Erskine’s Alyssa Gartley, Messalonskee’s Kylee Knight, Kassi Michaud, and Courtney Veilleux, Skowhegan’s Shelby Obert, and Becky Orcutt of Nokomis. Madison’s Emily McKenney and Erika Parker are on the West roster.

Caiazzo, who has run the baseball underclass game for several years, said he chose the players for this year’s softball game by looking at conference all-star selections and talking with college and high school coaches.

One stipulation was that players had to be from schools that are members of the Maine Softball Coaches Association. Among local schools, that disqualified players from Forest Hills, Gardiner, Hall-Dale, Maranacook, Mt. Blue, Oak Hill, Rangeley, Valley, Waterville, Winslow, and Winthrop.

Some players were picked but couldn’t make it. Rosters are 20 players per side, and the 40 players represent 27 different schools.

“There’s always a player or two that you miss, and there’s always a player or two, they get in the game, and skill set-wise, they’re not that good,” Caiazzo said. “It’s a process. It’s not easy.”

Caiazzo said he tries to look at the same statistics college coaches will focus on. For pitchers, that means innings, strikeouts, and walks, rather than ERA.

“Batting averages mean nothing to the people who evaluate,” Caiazzo said. “They mean absolutely nothing. What a hit or an error is in Augusta is different from what a hit is in Portland, and that’s probably different in Kittery.”

Caiazzo said the coaches are more overseers, there to coach the bases and remind players when they’re going into the game at a certain position.

“I think there’s a ton of good players out there, but they don’t get exposed to a lot of softball,” he said. “It’s a free opportunity for kids to play the game, to showcase some of their skills, with college coaches watching.”

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

[email protected]