By BOB ETTINGER - bettinger@starbeacon.com
Staff Writer
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Good pitching is a staple of every championship-caliber team. In fastpitch softball, it’s all the difference between an also-ran and a headline-maker.
Pitching is not a problem for the 12-and-under Top Guns, who will be playing at the ASA Eastern Nationals in Sterling, Va.
The Top Guns open the Eastern Nationals with games at 1 and 3 p.m. Thursday against the Parkville Thunder Yellow and BC Blizzard, respectively, in their pool-play games. On Friday, the double-elimination tournament begins with the championship slated for 6 p.m. Sunday. There are 34 teams in the bracket.
“We definitely want to stay in the winner’s bracket,” coach Bill Beckwith said. “Our goals are to play hard every game and be competitive. Our goal is to finish first, but our realistic goals are to finish in the top three or four.
“There are only two or three teams from Ohio, we’ve never played the others. We have no idea what we’re getting into.”
With three aces on the staff and a fourth pitcher that tops most teams’ rotations, the Top Guns have a luxury most other teams can only dream about.
“It’s a big advantage,” Beckwith said. “Other teams have one ace and one other pitcher who is not quite as good. We have three girls we can start at any time. If one is struggling, another one will pick her up. And we’ll just start the next one in the next game.”
The Top Guns (47-7) have a three-pitcher rotation of Bailey Beckwith, Taylor Diemer and Lexi Zappitelli with Emily Lower making spot starts and relief appearances.
“Bailey and Taylor are about the same speed,” Beckwith said. “They throw a lot of off-speed stuff and hit the corners with good changeups. Lexi is about four or five miles per hour faster and with her speed, the changeup is deadly. She blows it right by about 90 percent of batters.”
Pitching, however, has only been part of the Top Guns’ success this summer.
“We’ve had good pitching and gotten key hits,” Beckwith said. “If our top three or four are down, it seems like the girls at the bottom of the order come through.”
Members of the team include Diemer (CF-P-1B), Taylor Rowe (2B), Zappitelli (P-1B), Ashten Noce (3B-C), Beckwith (P-1B-OF), Mo Lynch (C-SS), Dani Heinonen (SS), Alayna Hanna (OF), Sam Blashinsky (3B-OF), Lower (P-OF), Kate Crooks (OF) and Faythe Diemer (OF).
In Beckwith’s estimation, the Top Guns have outscored their opponents about 300 to 100 this summer. And the credit for that lies with a couple of his assistant coaches.
“I just have to give credit to Pam and Trisha Dreslinski,” he said. “We were at their house getting ready with a practice at eight (Tuesday) morning.”
Beckwith’s biggest issues aren’t with who is hitting, but how he can bat only nine on Sundays of tournaments.
“Taylor Diemer is our leader. If she gets on, she will score every inning,” he said. “If Lexi gets on, she scores. It’s nice we get those two on. Taylor Rowe is the one to sacrifice them over.
“The bottom seems to come through when the top is struggling. We have nine or 10 girls that can hit. Our only problem is we can only bat nine on Sundays. We have issues with who that’s going to be. They’re all pretty even. It’s a tough decision sometimes.”
What really helps is the Top Guns use what their coaches teach them.
“They do what we ask of them,” Beckwith said. “They’re quick learners and they do what we ask of them. They know if we score five runs, we’re going to win the game. They’re not selfish players. They don’t care where they play, they just play where we ask them to.”
