BELOIT — Last season, Beloit Memorial senior Emma Middleton took on her pitching duties as if she were a soldier. She would trudge out to the mound day after day and battle tooth-and-nail against the Big Eight’s fierce offenses.
The senior more often than not threw complete games giving the Purple Knights’ softball team a heckuva workhorse to rely on.
But with Middleton gone, head coach Chad Davis will now turn to what he considers his “pitching army.”
“We have real high hopes for our three pitchers this year,” he added. “I don’t think there will be any full games like Emma last year. But our incoming freshman, Rilynne Cleland, started in (our scrimmage against Beloit Turner) and looked very good in her first varsity outing. Chesney Bishop, she came in second for Rilynne, is definitely going to get some work.”
Davis said that senior Delayna Hyser will return to the mound after undergoing season-ending surgery last year.
“The year prior she was a varsity pitcher,” he said. “And hopefully she will come right back into the rotation. She looked very strong in the open gyms. She comes and works hard at those.”
Hyser will miss any games held on Tuesday and Thursday in April as she takes part in a CNA program, but the Purple Knights hope they can overcome her absences and are especially excited about Cleland’s potential to turn into an ace and take firm control of that number one pitching role.
“Rilynne has five or six different pitches and has lots of movement on the ball,” Davis said. “
“The other day I was standing in the batter’s box watching her and her fastballs were very nice. She was controlling the movement of them very well. I’m like ‘Your fastball is very nice. And she said, ‘Well, that’s not even my best pitch.’ And then she started throwing ones that started moving.
“Her excitement for the game — she’s got her heart 110% up for softball. She loves the game. The girl goes to pitching coaches and her mindset and goals are amazing.”
The pitching staff will play an important part for a young Beloit squad. The Knights went 7-14 overall, finished 7-9 in the last season of the Big Eight and lost to Oconomowoc in regionals.
“We do have five returning seniors and one senior coming out for her first year,” Davis said. “But we’re starting pretty young. I look for (our returners) to step up very fast. I know a lot of them worked hard through the off season. All I keep preaching is fundamentals. And that’s all the girls have been focused on is doing the routine because they know that will get them to accomplish what they want.”
The Knights will be in the Southern Lakes Conference for the first time this spring, and Davis said he is excited for the fresh start.
“We don’t know anyone, which will be nice,” Davis said. “There’s not that intimidation of your Sun Prairie or your Verona. It’s a whole new game. Just go out there and play your game.”
Elkhorn, which won a WIAA Division 1 Regional title, won the conference last season at 12-2 while Waterford, who advanced all the way to the state quarterfinals, was next at 11-3. Third place Union Grove (9-5) also won a regional championship.
Behind the plate will be freshman Amiyah Clark, who Beloit is looking forward to making a strong battery with Cleland. She also allows senior Allie Gustafson, who was the team’s primary catcher last season, to see more time at third base.
“We have high hopes for Amiyah,” Davis said. “Allie plays a very nice third base and it’s great seeing her over there. Plus it gives her a little break from behind the plate.”
In addition to her glove, Gustafson will also provide an important bat in the top of the order after she hit .378 and recorded a team-high 18 RBI.
“Coming into open gym, Allie was swinging the bat a lot harder,” the head coach said. “She worked on her back swing and I noticed when she was hitting the ball, her hands were coming through a lot faster and a lot harder.”
The rest of the infield has a slew of different Knights vying for playing time, but Davis said that Bishop will make plenty of starts at shortstop.
“Chesney finished the year very strong for us,” he continued. “But after (our scrimmage), I’m going to give another shot to someone at short. Abby Middleton has played first base for us before. She’s accustomed to the outfield, but she’s not against it. So her sure glove, we slid her over there (at the scrimmage) and she looked good and comfortable, so I looked to push that forward.
“Brooklynne Hereford-Foster started second base for me last year, but I’m utilizing her in the outfield right now because she’s very fast and has a swift glove. The toss up is between her and Trinity Winfield, one of our other seniors who has looked very good.”
Davis expects senior Llani Froeber, in her third season on varsity, to start in left field. Sophomore Jasmine Smith should see her first full season on the squad and start in center field while Hereford-Foster will patrol right.
Middleton will bat leadoff for the Knights and Davis is excited to see what some new bats could bring to the table.
“Both of our freshmen were very impressive in the cage,” he said. “They are both well-maintained hitters with proper swings. I look for a lot of base hits out of Chesney again, putting her in the four hole. Abby is always very good at getting the ball on the bat, and I know Jasmine brings a big bat to the table.”
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