Lenawee County softball pitcher of the year brought confidence - and strikeouts - to the circle

BLISSFIELD — Every pitcher wants to strike everyone out, but few actually do it.

This season, however, Bella Treloar did just that in a five-inning game against Onsted, retiring all 15 Wildcats hitters on strikes.

“I want to strike out everyone all of the time,” the Blissfield senior said. “When everyone started striking out, I was really trying not to think about it because it seems like when I do it doesn’t happen. I tried to just focus on what I was doing in the moment.”

That perfect game was part of a season full of highlights. In 113⅔ innings, she struck out 223 hitters and had an ERA of 0.86, both best in the county. She also went 14-2, becoming Lenawee County Softball Pitcher of the Year.

“The pitching records she broke and perfect game she pitched were well deserved and shows the amount of time, effort and hard work Bella put in,” Blissfield coach Tiffanie Terry said.

Terry said Treloar brought an air of confidence with her to the team. Opponents batted .147 against her.

“I could always see my players’ demeanor shift and how much more confident and at ease the team was on the field when Bella was in the circle,” Terry said. “And it wasn’t just because of her ability; it was because she led the team by example. They played at a high level for her because she gave it her all every single time she stepped in to pitch.”

Blissfield’s biggest win of the season came against Clinton, which won the Lenawee County Athletic Association. Treloar got the win, striking out six.

“I’ve played for the Clinton coach before and with most of the girls on the Clinton team,” Treloar said. “I kind of know them all. I think everyone played our best game, that game. It was incredible.”

Treloar also had a big season at the plate, batting .345 with a county-best 15 doubles, 22 RBIs and a team-high 41 runs scored.

“We definitely had a really good team,” Treloar said of Blissfield, which went 24-8. “I think this is the best season we have had in a while. I was happy about that.”

As a junior, Treloar went 9-7 with 160 strikeouts in 112 innings.

“I just wanted to do better than last year,” she said. “I felt I didn’t have as good of a season as I could have. In the off-season I worked on my control more and focused on hitting my spots.”

Treloar is playing for a travel team based in Zeeland this summer with tournaments in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois ahead of playing collegiately at Alma next year.

“It’s basically all I do is play softball,” she said.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Lenawee County softball pitcher of the year brought confidence - and strikeouts - to the circle