When it comes to winning, the term "ace in the hole" typically refers to a hidden element that ensures victory. But in girls fastpitch softball, it's not the ace in the hole you have to worry about.
It's the ace in the circle.
There are few positions in team sports as crucial - or potentially dominant - as the pitcher in fastpitch softball, which was clearly evident Saturday at the Ringneck tournament at Sherman and Harmodon parks.
Though hitters sometimes have their day, the ace in the circle is confident, even unbreakable. She is focused on the battle in the batter's box, not the runs on the board. Seemingly, she can make the ball evaporate as the hitter swings through thin air.
"A lot of times you'll run across pitchers who can really spin the ball and make it drop off," says coach Trent Daly, whose South Dakota Fusion Black 18-under team is competing in the tourney, which wraps up with bracket play today.
"Or you'll run into pitchers who can throw the gas, then the next pitch looks mechanically the same but goes much slower. We've seen a lot of different pitchers and they all throw a little bit different. Keeping up with them can be a challenge."
The ace in the circle has determination and a game plan built on deceit. For her, the battlefield isn't so much the 43 feet from the rubber to home plate as it is in the mind of the opposition.
With a clockwise rotation of her arms and a whip of the wrist, she delivers a punishing pitch that cripples the confidence of the hitter. The effect ripples through the lineup and halts any hint of momentum.
"Pitching is mostly mental," says Fusion Orange 18-under pitcher Amanda Walters, whose rhythm includes getting set at her belt before reaching high above her head, then below her knees and almost coming set again at the belt before delivering.
Adds Fusion Black pitcher Tayler Elster: "You've got to maintain your focus. If you let the count bother you, you're not going to throw strikes. If you can get your release point down and make it look like it's coming at a different angle, that gets in the batters' heads."
The mechanics of deception are equally as important for the ace in the circle.
Similar to baseball pitchers, the majority of the power comes from the legs. But the shorter pitching distance and low release point allows for more bullets in the chamber.
Aside from the usual fastballs and change-ups, the ace comes fully prepared with an arsenal full of odd-moving pitches.
"I use my hips a lot on my curveball," says Carly Nielsen, a pitcher for Sizzle Gold out of Nebraska and a Michigan State commit. "With my screwball, I have to use my legs differently than every other pitch.
"With a rise ball you have to (shift your weight back), and with a drop ball you get on top of it. I think it's harder to hit movement, personally, because with speed, even if it's flat you can adjust and start your swing sooner."
The impact of the ace in the circle is second to none.
Like a field general, she warrants the respect of her team as she fights off uncertainty with ferocious offerings.
"Teams with great pitchers always know that they're in the game," said Augustana softball coach Gretta Melsted, one of a handful of college coaches taking in Saturday's games at the Sherman complex.
"A dominant pitcher can make or break your team. They have so much impact in that circle. What you see a lot, especially in tournament time, is that pitchers put the team on their back and go. The biggest thing is the willingness of that dominant pitcher - that they always want the ball in big games."
A dominant hurler can make a mediocre team look good and a good team unstoppable. Her ability to take command of the game lessens the pressure of the defense behind her and relaxes the offense that follows her.
"A good pitcher takes care of a not-very-good defense at times," Daly says.
The effect is created, not by a feeling of arrogance, but from a resounding belief that as long as she stands tall in the center of the chalked circle, there's no one better.
"You have to go out there thinking you're the best," says the Nebraska Sizzle's Nielsen with a shrug. "You don't have to act like it - you just have to think there's nobody better than you."
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