August 8, 2007

Wood's Dacey becoming a Force

By DREW MARKOL
The Intelligencer

There's nothing wrong with playing with a little chip on your shoulder.

In fact, for Jaime Dacey, the chip was on her shoulder, and also on the shoulders of her entire team.

You see, when you take a look at the roster for the second-year Philadelphia Force of the National Pro Fastpitch League, it's full of players from big-name collegiate programs.

Florida, LSU, South Carolina, Cal-State Fullerton, etc., they're all there.

And then there's Dacey — the 2001 Archbishop Wood graduate who has Division II Shippensburg University attached to her resume.

“Last year, definitely, I felt that I had something to prove because of where I played,” Dacey said. “Shippensburg is a small, Division II school and almost everybody else played Division I. But it's different this year. The feelings I had last year are all gone. I feel I belong and we're all here trying to do one thing and that's help the team win.”

Regardless of the roster stocked with former college stars, the Force are trying to become just that in the six-team NPF. Their inaugural season in 2006 was a struggle as they missed the playoffs and also battled team chemistry.

They won just 14 times in 28 games and finished last. This year, the Force already has 15 wins with 10 games remaining and find themselves in the playoff hunt.

An ownership change — and an infusion of new talent — has helped turn things around quickly.

“This team doesn't give up,” said first-year manager Jennifer Teague, who is also an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan University. “We all believe in this team and this league and that's why we're on an upward climb.”

The Force play their games at Bicentennial Park in Allentown. They play a 48-game regular season which runs through late this month before the playoffs begin.

The league also keeps costs down by having a $100,000 salary cap for its 19-player rosters.

“It's a great league and I fell in love with it last year when they were renting our stadium (ECTB Stadium),” said owner Tom Kleinman.

“There are six teams in the league and we have two expansion teams coming in next year, one in Arizona and one in Wisconsin. What we did with the Force was being active in free agency and we brought in several new players. Now, we're in the playoff picture which wasn't the case a year ago.”

Kleinman is hoping the improved product will help at the turnstiles down the stretch. The Force averaged about 625 fans a game a year ago and would like to better that number this year.

And it won't be for a lack of trying.

The team has made countless appearances in the Lehigh Valley and the team is housed at nearby Cedar Crest College. Last year's team stayed at Gwynedd-Mercy College and faced a long commute.

“We're doing everything we can, but I'm disappointed in the turnout from the Lehigh Valley,” Kleinman said. “Historically, softball is huge in Allentown. But eighty-five percent of our ticket base comes from Bucks, Montgomery and Chester counties.”

“Is it because we call the team the Philadelphia Force even though we play in Allentown? No. The league likes having us be Philadelphia. I just can't put a finger on it, but we're going to make this franchise a winner. There is no intention of folding it down.”

For Dacey, 24, the latter part of the season has seen her break out. She's still struggling at the plate, hitting under .200, but her outfield play has be so good that Teague has her in the starting lineup.

“I'm just taking it one game at a time and that's what the team is doing,” Dacey said. “We're getting timely hits when we need them and we just have to keep playing like we know we can.”