Windmill journey to the top

As bitten bullets go, it’s hard to imagine one more fortunate.

After her junior year, Colville’s Melissa Rice was scheduled to attend the University of Oregon’s softball camp, but figured she would end up pitching at a local junior college, so her family tried to get their money refunded.

The deadline to pull out had already passed, so she packed up and went anyway.

Next year, she’ll pitch for the Ducks.

Because she went to the camp at which she thought she had no business attending, she’ll be one of two local players in the premier league in college softball, the Pac-10, in 2006.

“Throwing at that level is way different than throwing in the Great Northern League,” Rice said. “I think just being around the other girls and seeing them, maybe I was just questioning myself.”

Rice attended the camp after her sophomore year as well, where she first caught the eye of Oregon head coach Kathy Arendsen, a pitching legend and ASA Hall of Famer.

“Going into her junior year, we saw a wonderful athlete who was incredibly coachable and improved during the week,” Arendsen said of the tall right-hander. “She still had a ways to go, and the next year she surprised us. She was obviously much more polished and picked up some velocity.”

This fall, Oregon’s coaching staff recommended Rice for a spot on the under-18 Ladyhawks Gold ASA team out of Kirkland, Wash.

Rice tried out and made the team, forcing her to choose between pursuing softball nearly full time and playing middle blocker for a volleyball team that would be one of the best in the state.

“It was hard because they were relying on having a big middle player,” Rice said. “It was something I needed to do.”

Her father, Mark, who threw fastpitch recreationally while playing football at Western Montana, knew Melissa felt like she was letting down her teammates, but this was a time to be selfish.

“We talked about it and decided she has to be ready to play Pac-10 softball,” he said. “We’ve gotta do this.”

Rice made the 350-mile trip to Seattle nearly every weekend this fall, but it was her performance at the national tournament that finally earned her an offer from Oregon, currently ranked 25th in the nation.

“The coach was really honest with me and said I wasn’t supposed to throw in any actual games,” Rice said. “I got some mound time in the tournament. I was so nervous, especially in my first game throwing at that level against hitters who are going to the Pac-10. I just said, ‘Okay, I have to showcase myself.’ “

“She had been playing against lower-level competition, so we couldn’t tell if it was her or the competition,” Arendsen said. “She went to nationals and pitched against a well-respected Southern California team and pitched her heart out. She showed she can pitch at the Pac-10 level.”

Which isn’t bad for a self-conscious girl who avoided the mound at first.

“I hated it. It was terrible,” Rice said of when she began pitching in sixth grade. “I didn’t like being in the spotlight. I’m so glad I stuck with it.”

As she grew, Rice attended a camp at the University of Washington and began realizing that pitching came naturally to her. She’s part of an athletic family with her twin brother, Scotty, heading to play linebacker at Carroll College next year and her older brother, Eric, who walked on to Eastern Washington’s football team as a quarterback.

As a freshman, Melissa wasted no time making a splash at Colville.

In her first scrimmage as a member of the junior varsity, she beat the varsity.

Then, in a game against Othello after being called up, she won over head coach Clyde Brown.

“They were very good that year,” recalled Brown. “I threw about three upperclassmen and we couldn’t get out of the first inning. So I went to Melissa and she shut them down. After the game, the Othello coach comes up and says, ‘Why didn’t you throw her first?’ That was the turning point.”

Rice and the Indians have made the last three state tournaments, finishing fifth last year. Before she heads to Eugene, the two-time GNL MVP has some unfinished business on the state high school level.

“I want a state championship so bad,” said Rice, who has led the Indians to a 9-1 record this season. “We know that it takes quite a bit. Everyone knows that we can do it.”

If they don’t get there, it won’t be for a lack of hard work.

Five days a week, Rice gets up at 6 a.m. to work out before school. After school and practice, she works cleaning a dentist’s office to earn some money for school. Saturdays are league doubleheaders, and then Sundays, she usually throws with her dad.

“She has a great work ethic,” Mark Rice said. “She’s spent quite a bit of time in the weight room since seventh grade and she’s always willing to go throw. She’s never shied away from that.”

All that effort could pay off sooner than expected.

“There’s going to be a real opportunity for her to pitch next year,” Arendsen said. “We never try to put pressure on freshmen, but it would not surprise me to see her in a big role.”