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Sutphin, Black bring contrasting styles on softball diamond for Bobcats
One of the biggest differences between the Battlefield softball and baseball teams last year was that the Bobcat girls captured the Cedar Run District crown and won in the first round of of the Northwest Regional tournament.The baseball team simply made it to district championship and regional quarterfinals before losing each game.
Senior Megan Sutphin and junior Brittany Black certainly carried their fair share of the load in delivering the team that far into the post season.
The two girls pitched every game last year and accumulated microscopic ERAs in the process. Sutphin earned a perfect 13-0 record and a 0.86 ERA; Black was not far behind with a 1.17 ERA and a 7-4 record.
“Really, they can be better, which is scary,” said coach Joe Schelzo.
Their fastballs, rises and change-ups were on full display Monday night in Haymarket, as the two combined to give up only one run in an eight-inning scrimmage against Park View.
Their noticeably different styles were also on display.
“Well, with Meghan, of course, when she's out on the mound, she doesn't show much emotion at all,” said catcher Courtney Liddle, who like the two pitchers, earned all-district honors in 2007. “She's kind of got it in control in her head.”
Against Park View, Sutphin would wind, step and throw, turn around and walk back to the rubber.
Her approach to the game is essentially an outlet of her overall demeanor, according to assistant coach Ed Russian, who called her “very relaxed.
“You also get that impression of [her having] that mindset,” he said.
Liddle agreed.
“I don't have to worry about her too much,” the catcher said. “If she throws a couple of bad pitches, I don't have to worry about her getting down on herself.”
“Brittany is more emotional,” added Schelzo. “Meghan is...calmer.”
Black let out her signature “umphs” after each pitch during the scrimmage, in keeping with her reputation.
She smiled and acknowledge her supporters in the crowd who yelled “Saucy!” after strikeouts. Her lips contorted in an array of motions between and during pitches in a showcase of what her coaches and teammates describe as “intensity.”
Russian said Black's style shows in the mechanics of her pitches where she tends to be a little more wild. That is not to say her pitches do not hit the mark, though, as Park View found out.
“She was right on,” Schelzo said after the game, noting that Black would often run up one-ball, two-strike counts, before either striking the batter out or forcing her to put the ball in play.
One of the main factors in Sutphin and Black's success has been the presence of Liddle behind the plate and in the dugout.
Liddle is the quintessential all-around softball player: Her .606 batting average was among the best in the region last year, she played on an 18U travel team as a 16-year-old, and her knowledge of the game is almost bottomless, Schelzo attested.
“She will know the mechanical issues” of Black and Sutphin, said the coach. He added that the junior is “very good at keeping them within themselves in terms of pitch selection. And if they are getting a little too flustered or a little too eager to strike out everybody...Courtney doesn't hesitate to go out there and get them back in focus.”
Black had nothing but praise for the catcher, as well.
“Courtney definitely knows both of us well to know what pitch to work with what batter,” said Black. “She really calls a great game.
Sutphin said that Liddle has a hands-on approach to correcting problems.
“She'll settle you down and get back to basics,” said the senior.
Liddle chalked up some of her ability to call games based on her travel ball experience, which has put her up against some of the best high school and college-age players across the country.
“When you go to Oklahoma to call pitches against gold-level batters from California who have played in college for their whole year...then you can definitely call pitches to a freshman from Northern Virginia,” she said, laughing. “I don't want to sound snobby or anything, but it just gives you the upper hand if you have that experience already.”
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