Mix a hot day, a dusty ballfield, two dedicated coaches and one red-hot softball pitcher and you might stir up a sure recipe for victory.
“She needs to stay centered; it’s all about arm speed, balance and accuracy,” said Little League pitching coach Ashley Lopez of her star pitcher, eighth-grader MacKenzie Hezel.
Lopez and coach Shannon Brown were preparing Hezel for the league’s All Star softball series, starting July 9 at Oak Harbor’s Volunteer Park. To make sure there were enough players for a full team, half the girls are local while the balance hail from Coupeville.
“Forging a bond between two disparate groups of girls into a cohesive whole isn’t easy,” Brown noted. “The secret to great team chemistry is simple: Play ball. A lot.”
“These players all want to be here, to excel; that’s why they’re All Stars,” she added. “Over the years, each will play on select teams or in tournaments, so it’s just something they have to get used to.”
While Brown sat on an upturned ball bucket and caught, Lopez placed her foot over Hezel’s in an effort to achieve the correct form.
“We’re trying to keep MacKenzie centered,” Lopez explained. “We use a ‘power line’ from the mound toward home plate to help gauge the perfect spot for the highest velocity over the plate.”
As the coaches spoke, Hezel threw one ball after another, speed and accuracy improving with every pitch.
During the regular season, the coaches — aided by assistant coach Mary Brown — guided the Rangers to a stellar 15-4 record. Hezel’s stats included 106 strikeouts over 46 innings.
Because there weren’t enough girls in the program last season, Hezel, 13, was the only girl on the boys team.
“Being with the boys was fun, I guess, but I was a little shy,” she admitted.
“But on this team, I’m not afraid to yell out cheers when we do good. And we did a lot of good things.”
Though she enjoys soccer and volleyball, Hezel plans to use fastpitch as a springboard to a scholarship at the University of Washington.
Hezel isn’t out there by herself, of course.
Shortstop Haley Viers committed zero errors this season and capped that with 85 base steals.
Catcher Chantel Brown wasn’t far behind, with 72 stolen bases.
Her secret?
“If the ball gets by the catcher, I just go,” she said. “I like to run fast.”
Coach Brown added that both girls converted to hitting left-handed in an effort to confuse their opponents.
“Chantel and Haley rattled other teams so bad they didn’t know what to do,” she said.
The coaches know what they’re about.
Brown and Lopez graduated from South Whidbey High School in 2003. During their years on the Falcon softball team — Brown played first base while Lopez pitched — the squad lost a total of only four games. Lopez has been an assistant coach for South Whidbey the past couple of years.
Brown said she and Lopez had the time and wanted to help instill and guide that competitive spirit they had when they were younger.
“The relationships that Ashley and I have made with these girls is truly awesome; it’s like we have 12 little sisters now,” Brown said.
The All Star line-up from South Whidbey includes Viers, Brown, Hezel, Hannah Grady, Calli Patterson and Carlee Mills. The Coupeville contingent is coached by Robert Bishop and Linda Hammer and includes Joye Jackson, Mckayla Bailey, Madi Roberts, Airiana Johnson, Hailey Hammer and Breeanna Messner.
South Whidbey boys minor and junior All Star games begin
at 6 p.m. Monday, July 6 at Community Park or Falcon Field.
Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or sports@southwhidbey
record.com.
