PREP SOFTBALL: Marysville-Pilchuck pitcher is calm, cool and collected

Published 11:35 pm Thursday, May 22, 2008

Age and experience being primary keys to success, the Marysville-Pilchuck High School softball team would seem to have a bit of a problem heading into this weekend’s 4A state tournament, which begins today at SERA Fields in Tacoma.

The Tomahawks (12-7) will be facing many of the best hitters the state has to offer, and their only defense is a soft-throwing, 15-year-old pitcher who’s making her tournament debut.

And yet freshman pitcher Riley Fritz is the least of coach KT Allyn’s concerns.

In her first year of varsity play, Fritz has risen to every challenge put before her. She beat Western Conference favorite Jackson High in her first start, twice outdueled Monroe star Jordan Birch, and helped lead the underdog Tomahawks to a District 1 title.

So this weekend’s state tournament? The 5-foot-4 freshman with the 55-mile-per-hour fastball should be cool as a Sno Cone, thank you.

“The mental game is huge, especially under pressure,” Allyn said earlier this week. “You have to walk in with confidence. And (Fritz) has done that. I always feel like she’s prepared mentally.”

Allyn first noticed Fritz’s demeanor in the 2008 season opener. The coach really didn’t know what to expect from her freshman pitcher, whom she barely knew at all before this season. In early practices, Fritz had outdueled a senior and a sophomore for the right to start the opening game, and then she mowed down Jackson’s Timberwolves without the slightest hint of nerves.

“It wasn’t like she was a freshman at all,” Allyn said. “She went out there like she’d been there before.”

The cool demeanor is typical of Fritz, who rarely shows any emotion on the mound.

“I’ve had a lot of good pitchers, but probably haven’t had anyone as mentally tough as she is on the mound,” said Snohomish County Express coach Steve Rollings, a 21-year coaching veteran who has worked with Fritz since 2002.

Fritz’s mother, Carrie, said her daughter’s demeanor has always been the same — on and off the mound.

“She’s never had a meltdown,” Carrie Fritz said. “I don’t know where she gets it. I’m all over the place, and her father (Rick) gets excited at times too. I don’t know where she gets it; she’s just wired like that.”

Riley Fritz’s demeanor was on display at an early age, when an umpire sought out her parents after a game and gushed about their 10-year-old daughter’s composure. Allyn said umpires have continually remarked about Fritz’s ability to keep emotions in check throughout her first varsity season.

“I’ve always noticed that if you lose it on the mound, the other team can see it,” the star freshman said this week. “Then they’ll go after your weakness. So I’ve always tried not to get too high or too low out there.”

As far as the actual pitching, Fritz has had to work hard at that part of the game. She started playing softball at the age of 9, but the 4-foot-8, 80-pounder didn’t even have enough strength to throw the ball 40 feet to home plate.

“We had four pitchers on the team at that time,” Rollings said, “and she was probably No. 5.”

Through hard work with Rollings and her father — Rick Fritz once earned a partial baseball scholarship to Oregon Institute of Technology and has always had a love for the game — Riley Fritz has developed into a quality pitcher who makes up for her lack of power with pinpoint accuracy.

“I’ve never been the biggest or tallest out there,” Fritz said, “so I’ve just tried to do the best with what I have.”

Fritz has done just that, much earlier than expected. Her family was surprised that she made the varsity, and it was even more of a shock when Fritz was named the starting pitcher for the opener. She beat Jackson in her varsity debut, then capped off a solid season by knocking off the Timberwolves again in last weekend’s District 1 title game.

Now the Tomahawks find themselves an unlikely participant in the 4A tournament, where they’ll get to face the state’s best teams.

Fritz shrugged off the significance of her first state tournament.

“We have as good a chance as anyone,” she said earlier this week.

Fritz’s mother admitted her 15-year-old daughter has been a bit less calm than usual this week.

“She’s nervous,” Carrie Fritz said. “Whether or not that shows, I don’t know. But I can tell. She’s a little chattier and amped up a little more than usual.”

Further pressed, Riley Fritz admits the nerves that aren’t always apparent in her cool disposition.

“I have been nervous,” she said two days ago, “but I’m also kind of excited. I think it will be a lot of fun.”

As the top seed from District 1, Marysville-Pilchuck will open its tournament with a game against Rogers of Puyallup at 11 a.m. today. Wesco rivals Monroe (18-3) and Jackson (19-4) both play games at 9 a.m. at SERA Fields.