Public League aces make a fine pair of teammates

The great thing about all-star games is the opportunity for the most fierce and talented of rivals to bring their abilities together.

Creative and Performing Arts' Amanda Whalen and Masterman's Emily Ashbridge won't be throwing verbal jabs at each other, but as two of the top pitchers in the Public League, they finally got the chance to be teammates. The two rising seniors suited up for the Public League and Friends League combined team Monday for the opening rounds of the softball Carpenter Cup at FDR Park in South Philadelphia.

What they share in pitching prowess, they differ in personality. Whalen is the silent assassin, letting her strikeouts speak for her, while Ashbridge is an extrovert. Her voice was the loudest in the dugout, constantly encouraging her team as if it were the playoffs, where she led Masterman to its second straight Public League title.

"It's a real good experience to come together and play on the same team," Ashbridge said. "We are not in the same division, but you know that once you get in the playoffs, that we're going to face each other. So, it's good to look at the box score and follow what she's doing, to see what I am up against."

Whalen was less expressive, but did not feel any less appreciative.

"I just felt excited," she said. "I felt kind of honored."

Whalen started and Ashbridge finished in a 10-0 defeat to Delaware County that eliminated the Pub/ Friends team with its second loss. In the opener, which the Pub/Friends lost to Lehigh Valley, 12-6, Ashbridge started and Whalen finished.

Philadelphia Catholic was eliminated after a 2-1 loss to Olympic Colonial and a 7-1 defeat to Delaware County. Delco went 2-1 on the day, losing to Berks County, 10-0.

The two players have a history dating back to their freshman year, when they faced off for the first time, with Whalen getting the victory. Ashbridge would return the favor the following year.

Whalen admitted to being a little intimidated in the gathering of the area's top talent, including her counterpart.

"She is a lot better than me," Whalen said. "It was kind of scary. You don't know who is out there looking."

Ritch Cedrone certainly was. As coach of the Phillies RBI under-18 club team, he has witnessed the development of Ashbridge as a member of the under-16 team last year to now. Whalen's maturity prompted him to inquire about her services to form a perfect duo.

"The way she presents herself on the mound," he said, of what impressed him. "I look at the little things. I was impressed with her demeanor on the mound and how she pitches, of course. Emily has good command of her pitches. She's an honor student and a good kid, too. She will probably get a scholarship for academics, let alone softball. They would be a good one-two punch. I would love to have Amanda."

Before they even think about the possibility of combining their powers, Whalen and Ashbridge are trying to figure out where all the time has gone since that first duel. They find themselves suddenly preparing for the next level. They can't make contact with colleges until July 1.

Ashbridge should be pretty sharp in the mind and body after a full schedule with the Phillies' traveling team and her research job at the neurology department at the University of Pennsylvania.

Whalen, who plays for Odyssey Fast Pitch Softball, has already started searching for an ideal place for her interests.

"I'm trying to go for art and softball at the same time," she said. "So I have to try and look for a school."

With one eye on the future, the present is still very much in their view. They would love nothing more than to end their careers the way they started it.

"I think so," Whalen said at the chances of one final matchup in the 2011 playoffs.

All-star teams only last for so long, of course. Ashbridge's response shows that once spring rolls back around, it will be all business, nothing personal.

"As long as we won," she said.