Jessica Becker is all too familiar with Thousand Islands standout Jessica Wiley.

Wiley and her sister Jamie slugged back-to-back homers off the Lowville ace during a Frontier League crossover game last year. Becker took solace in the fact that the Red Raiders won that matchup, but the connection between Becker and Jessica Wiley doesn't end there.

In fact, it may have been just the beginning.

Wiley and Becker have both emerged in recent seasons as two of the most dominant hurlers in the league and in Section 3. And beginning this fall, each of them will attend Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire on scholarship to play softball for the Division II program.

"I think it will be really cool to have someone from around home there with me," Wiley said. "I looked for her on Facebook(.com) to add her, but I couldn't find her. I'd really like us to get to know each other."

The only time Becker and Wiley had any significant contact was about four years ago at a pitching clinic in Cape Vincent, and neither one had any idea Franklin Pierce was recruiting another pitcher from the area.

"When I first decided I wanted to go there, one my friends told me Jessica Wiley is going there," Becker said.

The two rookies-to-be will probably compete next season for time on the mound because each said they plan to pursue a college pitching career.

Helping their high school teams to league and sectional titles is the priority for now, though.

The Vikings and Red Raiders play each other next week in the regular season finale for both teams. The two future Ravens are hoping to chat with each other — after the game, of course — about their future plans.

"I'm nervous (about playing in college), I'm not going to lie," Becker said. "I'm sure it will be difficult. I'm looking forward to working with Jessica instead of against her."

CASHEL STILL WITH COMETS

Nothing was going to keep Kelcie Cashel away from her Sandy Creek teammates this spring. So coach Bill Fowler had to find something for her to do, and Cashel takes her new responsibility rather seriously.

"Before every game, coach gives me the lineup card and I take it to the umpires. It's a pretty big job," Cashel joked Monday evening. "And I don't want to brag, but I'm probably the best lineup taper-upper there's ever been."

The two-time All-North shortstop has been reduced to the tiny, yet pivotal, role because of a torn labrum in her right shoulder. She isn't 100 percent sure when the injury occurred, but Cashel believes it was on the same play in which she suffered a concussion during soccer season.

One thing the all-star infielder is positive about, though, is that she waited way too long to see a doctor. She played the entire basketball season with pain, and finally had surgery on March 20. She won't play a single out of her final season with the Comets.

"About a week before softball started it was still very sore. But I never anticipated that it would be anything this serious," Cashel said. "It's so hard because I never expected to sit out my senior season. I've just tried to remain positive."

Fowler said Cashel has become more vocal since being relegated to the bench. That makes sense considering she can't use her arms or legs to help the Comets, who could have used her services last week in a tight game against Thousand Islands. The outcome of that meeting, postponed by rain after nine innings in a 4-4 tie, is still in doubt, and Cashel said watching was not fun.

"I definitely have a new perspective on the game," she said. "It's a lot harder to watch those kind of games than play them."

Cashel, who last month signed a letter of intent to play for Le Moyne College, said her future coaches have been understanding and supportive. She said that even though she won't be allowed to throw until mid-August, she still has been assured a Dolphins' uniform.

"I'm thankful for that," Cashel said.

Cashel's absence forced Fowler to insert new players at virtually every position on the diamond.

"I've never coached a better pure infielder," Fowler said. "And that includes all the travel ball I've coached, too."

MORSE TO PLAY D-II, TOO

Becker isn't the only Lowville player who will play at the Division II level next year. Chanelle Morse has signed a letter of intent to play for Bentley College in Waltham, Mass.

Bentley is a member of the Northeast-10 Conference, meaning Morse will have a chance to play against Becker next spring.