Don’t Mind If They Cut In Fountain Sisters Pitch Ccs To The Top

Want to know something about Community Colleges of Spokane softball pitcher Deanna Fountain? Just ask her younger sister, Julie. Want to know something about CCS pitcher Julie Fountain? Just ask Deanna.

So Deanna, what makes you such a dangerous pitcher?

“Well, I think …”

“It’s her accuracy,” Julie interrupts.

OK. Uh, Julie, what makes you a threat on the mound?

“I feel like …”

“Oh, that one’s easy. She’ got a tough breaking ball,” Deanna cuts in.

Deanna, how would you describe your personality when you’re pitching?

“Deanna’s hyper. She’s really enthusiastic when she’s on the mound,” Julie said.

Julie, what makes you …

“Julie has a cool head. She never gets rattled. And if she ever gets nervous, she sure doesn’t let it show when she’s excited,” Deanna said.

They’re sisters, all right. They constantly finish and intrude on each other’s sentences.

Deanna, a 20-year-old sophomore, and Julie, an 18-year-old sophomore, each have 9-1 records for the Sasquatch this season.

Graduates of Mead High (Deanna 1993, Julie 1994), Julie will earn her associate’s degree with Deanna this spring. She was in the Running Start Program at Mead that allowed her to graduate a year ahead of schedule.

For two years, Julie took classes at CCS while playing softball at Mead. In graduating early from high school, Julie wanted one more opportunity to play on the same team with Deanna. They were teammates at Mead when Julie was a sophomore and Deanna was a senior.

For years, the Fountain family has made quite a splash in the Spokane softball pool.

Deanna and Julie are the cousins of Ferris High graduate Katrina Fountain, who is a freshman pitcher at Walla Walla Community College.

Deanna and Julie have a 12-yearold sister, Dawnice, in the early stages of a softball pitching career. The same goes for 12-year-old cousin Kaylene, Katrina’s little sister.

Though Deanna’s and Julie’s pitching paths are closely intertwined, that wasn’t always the case.

Deanna started pitching when she was 9, but Julie didn’t begin to pitch until just four years ago.

Deanna and Julie are the daughters of Larry and Dennice Fountain. Four times a year for six years, Larry has held pitching camps for local softball players.

The camps were spawned when the Fountains lived in Odessa. There were no softball leagues for Deanna and Julie.

“I tried out for a boys baseball team, but they wouldn’t let me play,” Deanna said.

Until she started pitching, Julie had been a catcher. At CCS, Julie catches for Deanna when big sis is on the mound.

“Deanna is the kind of player that keeps her teammates in the game,” Julie said. “She’s got dad’s hyper personality. She’s definitely a motivator.”

And CCS’ motivation has them sitting atop the NWAACC’s East Division.

“That was our goal going into the season,” Deanna said. “We’ve got good pitching and the big hitters (Dani Fine, Amy Flaa and Misty West) to back us up when we’re on the mound.”

This most likely will be the last season in which Deanna and Julie pitch together.

“We’ve always had fun together,” Deanna said. “I think because our personalities are so different, we’re not in direct competition with each other for the same things.”

That statement was never more evident than when the two drove away from a Spokane Falls parking lot after Wednesday’s practice.

Deanna drove off in a sporty 1991 candy-apple-red Chevrolet Beretta, while Julie hopped in a 1966 canaryyellow, souped-up Chevrolet pickup.

“Well, that truck isn’t mine, it belongs to a friend,” Julie said. “I drive a 1966 Mustang. I’m more into the older, faster muscle cars. Deanna’s more into the hot contemporary stuff.”