Young Pitchers Excel On Mound For CCS

4-16-10

By LAURA COX : COOPERSTOWN

This spring, young pitchers are shining on Cooperstown mounds.
In softball, CCS junior Anna Sams has taken the team to a 3-1 record as the team has charged forward into the new season. Her goal this year is to get the team a banner to hang in the gym – to do so the girls must make it to sectionals and win.
“I think softball is the only sport that doesn’t have a banner,” Sams said, adding that the team made it close last year and she thinks they are capable.
On the baseball team, sophomores Ryon Bennett and Jarrett Hotaling have both shone as starters. Their team has a 4-1 record and these two young men have each brought home wins. As freshmen, Bennett and Hotaling were both given the opportunity to pitch two varsity games and both got wins.
All three of these pitchers have something in common. They have all played since little league, they all like the position because of the control they have on the mound and they all have a specific person who has been influential in their success.
Hotaling grew up playing tee-ball.  He threw his first pitch when he was in fifth or sixth grade, he liked it and decided to keep at it, along with his other position of catcher. As a freshman he threw 87 pitches; most of them were strikes, something he is proud of.
For Hotaling, senior pitcher Kyle Liner has been the person he turns to for guidance. Hotaling catches for Liner and Liner catches for Hotaling. Liner has taught him a lot about mechanics and has been somebody to throw to, he said. The pitcher said his baseball coaches have also been influential.
His favorite part about playing pitcher, “You control the game.”
Bennett has also been playing since tee-ball, but it was his aunt Cynthia Gland who taught him how to pitch. Gland, of Hartwick, passed away in 2005 and Bennett said he plays for her.
Bennett said that pitching is hard, because “you can only control yourself and not your fielders,” and “there is a lot of pressure.”
As far as advice for younger players, Bennett said, “Go from batter to batter and don’t beat yourself up.”
“Stay away from the curveball until your older,” said Hotaling.
Sams has also played since she was in Kindergarten or first grade. Her sister who is four years ahead of her in school was a pitcher and Sams followed closely behind in her footsteps learning from her along the way.
They both learned from the same pitching coach Tom Weeks – who Sams said she is very close to. During the off season she practices at least a few times a week with her coach and plays on the STPS Ponies a travel softball team based out of Binghamton.
Sams likes pitching the best because she is in every single play.
“I enjoy the control I have of whatever is going on,” she said.
Her advice for younger players is that” it’s all about the placement of your pitches,” “it takes hard work and practice,” and “keep your head.”