| Taylorville High School sophomore Sydney Hancock | | | | really shown through and we've hit the ball really well |
| toiled as a catcher for half of a softball season | | | | with the exception of a couple games where we |
| before the desire to pitch became too strong to ignore. | | | | faced some pretty tough pitchers. |
| Senior teammate Kate Althoff, however, has stuck | | | | "We've put the ball in play a lot and scored a lot of |
| with a position she seemed destined to play. | | | | runs. It was one of the things I was concerned about |
| The duo makes up a strong battery for the | | | | when we first started open gyms in January, but |
| Tornadoes softball team, with Hancock in the circle | | | | swinging the bat has been one of our main assets." |
| and Althoff behind the plate. | | | | Taylorville smacked 15 hits and disposed of Lincoln |
| Althoff is a four-year varsity player. Hancock is | | | | 13-3 in five innings via the 10-run rule on April 6. The |
| shouldering the bulk of the pitching duties for a second | | | | Railers finished third in the CS8 in 2009. |
| straight season. | | | | Sophomore left fielder Brittany Grubaugh leads a trio |
| "My dad (Paul Althoff) was a catcher," Kate said. "My | | | | of players hitting more than .400. Hancock has the |
| brother (Ben Althoff) was a catcher for Taylorville. My | | | | team's second-best batting average (.439) with 15 |
| mom (Sue Althoff) was a catcher." | | | | RBIs. Junior center fielder Shannon Mitchell is No. 3 on |
| Hancock decided catching wasn't for her and | | | | the list. |
| switched positions around age 8. | | | | "Last year we only had one person hitting close to |
| "I watched it on television and told my dad (Doug | | | | .500 most of the year," Althoff said. "We've had a lot |
| Hancock), ‘I want to be a pitcher,' " she said. "I got | | | | of people step up." |
| lessons. I've been pitching ever since." | | | | Hancock has started all but two of Taylorville's games. |
| Prior to last year, Althoff and Hancock had played | | | | She has 67 strikeouts, a 6-5 record and a 5.60 earned |
| together just once. Althoff has recollections of playing | | | | run average. |
| on the same team during a grade-school tourney. | | | | In the offseason, she put in time with two pitching |
| Hancock's memory of the event is fuzzy. | | | | coaches. |
| "I remember it was a big deal," Althoff said. "We were | | | | "I worked on form and the location of pitches," she |
| 10 or 11 and she was 8 or 9." | | | | said. |
| The freshman butterflies are gone, and Hancock is | | | | Althoff critiqued the sophomore's performance |
| getting the job done on the mound and at the plate. | | | | Thursday in a 2-1 loss to Springfield High, a game in |
| "She's done a great job of getting out of certain | | | | which Hancock struck out 11. |
| (pitching) situations," Taylorville first-year coach Jeff | | | | "She was hitting her spots and coming in hard," Althoff |
| Beck said. "She's done a great job of mentally | | | | said. |
| preparing herself." | | | | Beck praised Althoff's efforts. |
| A year makes a difference | | | | "She's done a great job back there," he said. "She's |
| In all, things are looking up for the Tornadoes' softball | | | | vocal and she shows leadership behind the plate. She's |
| program. Last spring, Taylorville went 10-18 overall and | | | | done a great job of mentoring (backup catcher) |
| 4-10 (sixth place) in the Central State Eight | | | | Brittany Grubaugh and showing her the way to get |
| Conference. | | | | things done." |
| Taylorville has been more competitive this season. | | | | Althoff didn't go out for basketball this past season in |
| With a month left in the regular season, the Tornadoes | | | | order to focus on softball. She's in the final weeks of |
| have a 6-7 overall record and a 2-2 CS8 mark. | | | | her sports career. The National Honor Society |
| "I'm very happy with the way the girls have taken to | | | | member plans to focus on academics at the University |
| my philosophy of we're going to do things until they're | | | | of Evansville after graduation. |
| perfect," Beck said. "I think that has made us more | | | | Hancock discovered a tennis career after taking up |
| fundamentally sound. | | | | the sport for the first time as a freshman. She was |
| "We've gotten better at the little things, and that has | | | | Taylorville's No. 3 singles player in the fall. |