Four straight for the Tide girls

No one will deny this probably has been one of the worst years athletically in the history of Columbia High School sports.


Two teams went winless on the season and heading into the spring season, the only team that enjoyed success has been the Crimson Tide wrestling team. They finished with a winning record and did well in their tournaments and invitationals.

But overall, success has been few and far between.

Welcome to the end of the 2010 spring sports season and some reason to be proud to wear the crimson and gold again.

With wins this week over Pequea Valley, Eastern York, Lebanon Catholic and Lancaster Catholic, the Crimson Tide softball team is as hot as the weather was last week until Friday.

The Tide girls won all four games, three impressive fashion, to improve their overall record to 4-1.

Columbia has been playing high school softball since 1984 and in those 26 years never had a four-game winning streak.

And, the Tide girls have never been in the upper echelon of Section 4 in the L-L League and find themselves tied for first place with unbeaten Annville-Cleona with a 3-0 record. And Monday, the Tide and A-C faceoff for first place at Glatfelter Field.

It’s the biggest game ever in school history and the biggest high school game played at Glatfelter Field since some District Three and state playoff games were played on the field in the 1990s.

Friday, the Tide girls became the first Columbia team to beat Lancaster Catholic this season, turning back the Crusaders on their home field, 10-1.

Junior Emily Detz had her fourth big game of the week. She didn’t allow Catholic a hit the sixth inning with two outs and wound up with a one-hitter and fanned 14 Catholic hitters along the way. She didn’t walk anyone.

Columbia made the most of seven hits in the game, scoring five times in the sixth. Catholic also helped the cause walking five Tide batters and committing five errors in the field.

Detz has 63 strikeouts in five games and just four walks. This week alone, the fireballer has struck out 63 batters and pitched three one-hitters.



For more on the Columbia softball program, check out Jeff Reinhart’s View from the Press Box later this weekend. You can link it to the right on this page.

I'm too much of a traditionalist

Call me a traditionalist or an old fart, but I have a hard time when I see teams, including some of my favorites wearing these alternate color uniforms.


To explain what I am talking about, I’ll use one of my favorite teams as an example – The Eagles, who sometime without much luck breakout the old black uniforms. I know it’s a marketing tool and sells their merchandise. I do have some black Eagles’ gear and have come to live with it, but don’t like it.

To take it one step farther, I will have problems with basketball teams that wear black sneakers and black socks. Heck, I have a problem with teams that wear white socks and you can’t see them over the top of their shoes.

I also have a pet peeve with teams that don’t wear their uniform pants right. And don’t get me started on how people wear hats. Okay, please stop the rantings.

I can’t right now.

What I do have a problem with are teams that want to change their colors and even their mascots to something that shouldn’t even be an issue and I don’t care how much success a team or school is having.

I can remember perhaps 15 years ago or so when a former Columbia High School principal attempted to change our school’s mascot from the Crimson Tide to the Bulldogs. That administrator even went as far as to order some shirts and other items. The community was in such an uproar and packed a school board meeting to air their feelings.

Well, the bulldog idea was put out to pasture.

Which leads to me to school colors. Whether it be crimson and gold in Columbia’s case; green and white for Donegal; blue and gold for Eastern and yes, even purple and gold for Lancaster Catholic, they are the chosen school colors.

What bothers is when I see our local schools wear a color other than school colors.

I have to ask why? Why do we need to say mix another color, say back into the uniform mix. Its not a school color.

I won’t say this is happening yet around here, but I would hope that if any of our coaches try to change school colors for say uniforms to something other to crimson and gold, the thought should be dismissed right away.

Black is not a school color in Columbia and should never be.

We wear crimson and gold!

Enough said.