Published 2002-03-06T00:00:00Z”/>

Matt Brown<br>Assistant Sports Editor

Sitting on the dugout bench, softball head coach Teri Rupe is confronted with a problem before each and every game. But it is a good problem – the sort of problem any softball coach would love to have.

“I think right now we have three of the top pitchers in the (California Collegiate Athletic Association) conference,” she said. “Any one of them on any given day can be our best pitcher, and that’s a very special situation to be in.”

Rupe is referring to the women that make up the Chico State Wildcats softball pitching staff. With three consistent, trustworthy pitching arms at her exposure, Rupe is forced to think twice before she puts a “P” next to the name of either Erin McCulloch, Amber Neves or Katie Stokx on the lineup card.

All three bring a little something different to a team that has won the first major battle of the season: unification.

McCulloch is the quiet, self-reserved junior veteran who leads by example and is not afraid to relieve a starter and close a game in the later innings – one of the toughest and most pressure-filled jobs in sports.

“Of course I’d rather start a game,” she said, “but I am used to coming into that situation when everything is on the line.”

McCulloch came to Chico with the intention of playing college softball.

“I visited Chico State with my dad and I really loved the town,” she said. “It wasn’t that far away from home, but it was just far enough.”

McCulloch started the year at her other favorite position, catcher, which she played in her hometown of Petaluma at Casa Grande High School. It is not often that you find a pitcher who also likes to be on the opposite end of the pitching spectrum.

In 2000, she was 9-2 as a freshman with a 1.13 ERA, pitching three shutouts and six complete games. She proved she could hit as well, leading the team in RBIs with 18. The ERA was still great in 2001 (1.86), but she finished the season with a 4-5 record.

McCulloch wants to change her major to recreation administration with an option in therapeutic recreation, hoping to someday land in a field in which she can help disabled people.

Stokx and Neves have plans to be a pitching force for fours years at Chico. Both are freshman and currently plan on staying in Chico for the duration of their college careers.

Showing admirable composure on the mound, they refuse to get discouraged if the opposing team scores a couple of runs. Both said their freshman status does not add weight to the already heavy burden on their backs.

“I don’t feel any added pressure being a freshman, but I still feel pressure,” Stokx said. “Being a pitcher in college is really tough in general.”

Stokx brings an outspoken competitive fire to the squad, always telling the team to “refuse to lose,” Rupe said.

She made a strong commitment to Chico, coming from Newbury Park in Southern California, about an eight-hour car drive from Chico.

And apparently she misses home, using her only weekend off to catch a flight to visit her parents.

“My dad caught for me throughout my softball career, always encouraging me to get better. My sister Darlene also caught for me in high school for two years,” she said.

Stokx is living for the minute, the hour and the day by going to school and playing the sport she loves. She has been the workhorse this year, pitching 65 innings in nine starts and 11 appearances.

Neves, who went to Pleasant Valley High School, chose not to go very far at all. She applied to only one school, Chico State, and was immediately accepted.

“I am a local from Chico and it’s always been No. 1 in my mind,” she said. “I love the campus; it’s so beautiful.”

Neves lives with her parents in Chico, choosing a more gradual transition to college life and citing a reason all college students can relate to.

“I love my mom’s cooking,” she said. “I have a great relationship with my family, and my parents have always given me a lot of support. My dad always encouraged me to practice more.”

She eventually wants to study abroad in Spain. Majoring in physical education and minoring in Spanish, she would like to be a coach and teacher at the high-school level.

All three women will be back in a Wildcat uniform next year, which means Rupe won’t lose sleep worrying about her pitching staff. It can only get better, and that means trouble for CCAA opponents.

If the team can mix in some consistent hitting, a late season playoff push is not out of the question.

But McCulloch said the stats and records are secondary this year because of the strong team chemistry, something it was lacking her previous two years.

“Katie, Amber and I get along well,” McCulloch said. “There is no tension between anyone on this team. The fact that we get along is different from last year. It makes us a better team.”