After first big bite of success, Fort Mill softball ready for more
From lengthy sessions in the batting barn to wind sprints in the school parking lot, Chuck Stegall’s Fort Mill softball team has put in the work and is ready for another successful season.
Last year, the Yellow Jackets went 25-4, won their region and reached the state playoffs. They put together a 19-game winning streak during the regular season despite a young roster.
The Jackets’ 2017 group includes three middle schoolers, but age is only a number for Stegall’s coaching staff. Stegall said that coaching Fort Mill’s team isn’t as much of a teaching process as it is about management. Most of the team plays travel softball where they learned the basics; his main job is to get them in the right spots, physically and mentally.
“Just by playing all that, they’re ready when they come out here,” said Stegall.
In 2016, a key injury to infielder Cassie McInerney’s knee took the Jackets by surprise. The injury revealed a lack of depth late in the season, an issue Stegall plans to avoid this spring.
Nearly every player on the roster will be required to train in multiple positions. This strategy creates depth, but also gives the players an understanding of what each position requires.
“You’re going to be in the outfield and now all of a sudden you have to be able to make the throw that you hope that everybody makes to you,” said Stegall.
Now they’re understanding it’s not as easy as you thought it was to throw a bullet at 110 feet.
Fort Mill coach Chuck Stegall. He’s training his players at multiple positions so that they better understand what’s expected at different spots on the softball diamond.
All-region junior Marissa McDermott is exemplary of the versatility Stegall wants.
”If (coach) is talking to first base I’ll listen to that so I know what do if I were ever put in that situation, in case a player got hurt or something,” said McDermott, whose .471 batting average led the team in 2016.
McDermott has a calm personality that combined with extensive travel ball experience for great success at the plate last season.
“I’m really relaxed when I’m batting,” she said. “I try to just laugh everything off. I love the game.”
Two strikes? Zero problems.
Junior pitcher Bella Roy shows the same attributes on the mound.
She produced eye popping stats in 2016, striking out 276 of the 522 batters she faced, with an ERA of 0.42 and nine shutouts.
“That is 85 pounds of attitude,” laughed Stegall. “It’s the confidence she has throwing the pitches that we call and the confidence that she’s on her game. When it comes from the pitching area, it goes across the whole field like a wave.”
Hitting against Roy in practice every day is an advantage for the Yellow Jackets.
“Sometimes we get frustrated because we can’t hit it,” said catcher Lauren Collie. “Usually we don’t see the kind of movement that Bella has and it helps us a lot to see the pitchers that aren’t as talented. It helps us gain confidence.”
The Yellow Jackets won 10 games in 2014, but nearly doubled that to 19 in 2015, before winning 25 last year. Success isn’t a novelty for the 2017 team, which expects the experience and confidence from the last two years to pay off in the coming months.
“This is our reward. Our reward is to be able to come out and play the game,” Stegall said. “This is where the road starts and the fun starts for us.”
Let the fun begin.
This story was originally published February 28, 2017 at 12:06 PM with the headline "After first big bite of success, Fort Mill softball ready for more."