Timeout with … Kelsie Mason, senior, Lynnwood softball
Published 12:01 am Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Known as a power hitter, Kelsie Mason is off to a slow start this season at the plate. Through last week’s games, the Lynnwood High School pitcher/shortstop was batting .238 for the Royals softball team.
But Mason, Lynnwood’s cleanup hitter and a fourth-year varsity player, believes — and her coach knows — she has the ability to bust out of her slump at any moment. In the meantime, Mason uses the same optimistic approach every at-bat.
For a hitter, self-confidence is crucial in the batter’s box, Mason said.
“If you go up to the plate thinking, ‘Hey, I can hit this ball and I can hit this pitcher,’ then you’re going to hit it,” she said. “But if you go up to the plate thinking, ‘Please don’t strike me out,’ it’s a totally different scenario.”
Coach’s corner
Currently, Mason is Lynnwood’s No. 1 pitcher, the same role she played for the Royals last season. But Mason is also a talented shortstop. She started every game at that position during her sophomore season. “She’s super smooth going to the ball and comfortable with her hands — smooth transfers,” Lynnwood coach Matt Rockne said. “It looks methodical but it’s done quickly.”
Playing with the boys
Before Mason started playing softball, she played baseball. At age 6, she was the lone girl on a coach-pitch baseball team. The experience was “kind of weird,” Mason said, but she switched to softball, began playing on a select team at age 8 and softball has been her main sport ever since.
Start with a strike
After switching from shortstop to pitcher last season and pitching every game for Lynnwood, Mason feels more confident on the mound this spring. “I have a lot more movement on my pitches,” said Mason. “Last year I had trouble throwing first-pitch strikes, but this year I’m definitely more consistent.”
Her first homer
Mason will never forget her first home run. She hit it during an Alderwood Little League game off of pitcher Jessica Mirante, who is Mason’s best friend and currently plays for Jackson High. Later in that same little league game, Mirante got revenge by smacking one of Mason’s pitches over the fence. “She kind of got me back!” Mason said, laughing.
Husky hero
Mason plays select softball for the Rainier Jets, whose coaching staff included Dena Tyson-Slye, a former University of Washington All-American first baseman. As a senior in 2007, Tyson-Slye hit .399 with 18 home runs and 50 runs batted in.
Bump, set, spike
Softball is by far Mason’s favorite sport, but she also played volleyball at Lynnwood. A three-time varsity letterwinner in volleyball, Mason mainly played in the back row, sometimes as a libero.
Thanks, Dad!
Asked to name the most inspirational person in her life, Mason picked her dad, a former pro dirt-bike rider. He coached Mason in softball from the first season she started playing until she was 13. Since then he has avidly supported her from the bleachers. “He’s been to every one of my games and every one of my travel tournaments, and I’ve traveled a lot!” said Mason. “He’s not hard on me at all. He knows when to say the right things.”
Dream job
Mason has not finalized her college plans but she wants to study sports medicine and become a physical therapist.
She’s gone country
“I listen to country music all the time,” said Mason, whose two favorite country artists are Jason Aldean and Keith Urban. Mason and her mom have tickets to see Urban’s concert at KeyArena on Sept. 29.
Mike Cane, Herald Writer
