Hico – Freshman pitcher Aubrey Smallwood has created a bit of a stir in the high school softball world to start the season.
Friday night the Woodrow Wilson hurler applied the silencer to the bats of Midland Trail.
Allowing just one hit and only two base runners all night, Smallwood struckout 16 Patriots to lead the Flying Eagles to 2-0 win.
“My rise-ball and my curve-ball were just on today. Those are what I like to mix between,” Smallwood said.
On a night where toboggans, hoodies, long-sleeve undershirts and hot chocolate were the order of the day, Smallwood was unfazed in her short-sleeve jersey.
“I seem to do better in the cold. Once my adrenaline gets high, I thrive,” Smallwood said. “I would just go in the dugout and bundle up and keep my arm warm.”
Sophomore Natalia Meade gave Smallwood all the runs she would need hitting out of the lead-off spot to open the game.
Meade smacked a solid single to right field that could not be handled by an approaching defender. With the ball rolling to to the fence, Meade rounded the bases for a 1-0 lead.
The excitement of scoring the first run quickly faded and Smallwood’s great pitching night almost never happened.
Hitting second in the order, Smallwood took a high inside fastball to her pitching hand.
With people scrambling for ice and Woodrow Wilson warming up a new pitcher, Smallwood gathered herself after a few minutes and stepped back in to the batter box.
“I had a high inside pitch and it was either going to hit me in the head or hit me in my fingers. I just turned on it. Probably not the best idea. The ball hit on top of my middle and pointer finger,” Smallwood said. “It stung for a second and I was kind of worried, but then I was like, I have to get back out there. I don’t like to sit out. It aggravates me big time.”
Smallwood proceeded to strikeout the first 10 Patriots she faced.
“I was scared for her. We have another pitcher, but I was scared for her,” Woodrow Wilson head coach Pam Davis said. “I didn’t want her to be hurt. She is a good little pitcher.”
The first Patriot to put the ball in play was Chezney Skaggs, but her bunt turned into a liner back to Smallwood.
Madison Campbell followed Skaggs with a solid single to left and worked her way to third base before Smallwood’s 11th strikeout of the game ended the threat.
“I am not going to take anything away from (Smallwood). She is going to be tough and she is only going to get better. I have to give kudos to her,” Midland Trail head coach Candace Young said. “I thought we were too timid at the plate at times. We watched some good pitches go by and swung at some that we shouldn’t. She definitely pitched a good game, but we did not bring our A-game.”
Kayla Bird added a crucial insurance run with one out in the sixth inning. After hitting a ringing double to the centerfield fence in her first plate appearance, the big hitting senior cleared the centerfield fence in her third trip to the plate with a solo homer.
“Kayla has two home runs this year and she has been one of our best hitters,” Davis said.
After Smallwood battled back from a three balls and no strikes count to record her 14th strikeout of the night, Young tried to stir things up with some small ball.
“We had some opportunities, like dropped third strikes and we kind of froze. Practices are great, but the some things you just get by playing games,” Young said. “We thought about small ball since we were struggling, but we (bunted) them right back to her. Anywhere but at the pitcher.”
A one-out walk to Campbell and two stolen bases gave Trail some hope. However, after Smallwood’s final strikeout of the night, Campbell was caught straying a little too far away from third base to end the game.
“I see a lot of good things happening with this team. They are young and the pitchers are young. I am hoping all of the puzzle pieces fall together by the end of the season,” Davis said. “Most of the these girls travel and play together over the summer. They really work and you can tell the difference in the kids that put in the time and the ones that don’t.”
After an 0-4 start ended in a state tournament run for Trail last year, Young is by no means pushing the panic button after an 0-2 start this year.
“I got a little nervous because I thought she was going to throw a perfect one on us there. On the positive side, as bad as we were at the plate, it was a 2-0 ball game,” Young said. “That gives me hope on the defensive end and (Meghan) Gill threw the ball phenomenally. She pitched a really good game. That is the silver lining type thing, but, man, we have got to hit the ball.”
