With Gresko in the circle, ‘quiet-confident’ Orting softball has taken 2A by storm

In most instances, those tasked with jump-starting an offense off Orting pitcher Kaylee Gresko fall short, scratching their heads, bat in hand.

Gresko wastes little time disposing of challengers. The 6-foot right-hander often works ahead in counts, depriving opposing hitters the opportunity for leverage.

Then comes the disgusting out pitch, a fastball that paints the corners and has already racked up 96 strikeouts this season, 27 of them looking. Gresko’s No. 1 rule: Never let hitters touch the ball on strike three.

Hitters face more than Gresko, the ace pitcher. They must defuse a meticulously-wired game-plan, with emphasis on the details.

“They can’t touch the ball on two strikes,” she said Monday, standing outside Orting’s home dugout. “They need to be swinging and missing.

“And no foul balls. The less I can keep my pitch count down, the better I feel at the end of the game.”

No team has solved Gresko yet. Orting remains a sparkling 13-0, and their ace pitcher’s individual record is a perfect match. The Cardinals sit atop the WIAA’s 2A fastpitch RPI, one of two unbeatens in the classification (North Kitsap, 9-0).

Gresko, meanwhile, is nearly unhittable. Paired with her 96 punchouts is a microscopic 0.77 earned run average. The senior’s first 13 starts include more than seven strikeouts per game.

It helps, she admits, when the offense puts up 17 runs per game. A “top-to-bottom” Orting lineup features a cluster of the SPSL’s best hitters, four of which are batting over .500.

With seven regular-season contests remaining, a “quiet confidence” dwells in the Cardinals dugout and instantly unleashes at first pitch.

It’s infectious.

“Once one kid gets on base, and they’re over there clapping and yelling at the team, it just brings everybody up,” Orting coach Tyler Polly said at practice on Monday. “And the next person’s up, like, ‘I want to do the same thing.’”

Orting’s lineup includes sophomore catcher Miken Jacobsen, Gresko’s batterymate in each of her 13 starts. She’s posting a .548/.611/.578 slash line in a breakout campaign, with a dozen extra-base hits and 24 RBI.

Senior shortstop and leadoff hitter Abbi Almont sports a .514 average with 23 runs and 13 RBI. Madlynn Halte, manning Orting’s hot corner at third base, slashes .533/.611/.578 with 19 RBI and 28 runs in the season’s first 13 games.

And Gresko’s talents translate to the batter’s box, on-base exactly two-thirds of the time (.667). Her .636 batting average complements a .909 slugging percentage.

Not to mention, the ace-pitcher qualities.

“She goes after hitters,” Polly said. “She doesn’t back down from them. She does a really good job of attacking the zone, and knowing where to attack the zone… and putting the ball where the hitters can’t hit it.

“She goes right at batters. She’s not intimidated by them, because she knows she’s put in the work to get to this point. She’s confident in herself, and she just goes out and does it.”

Perhaps Orting’s most impressive win this season, the Cardinals traveled to Ephrata High School and won a pair of games on March 18 in a jamboree, the opener an 11-9 victory over 2A-contending Clarkston.

The winning margin was Orting’s tightest yet. After all, four of Gresko’s 13 wins came via shutout, her opponents’ box scores left glaringly empty. Since, 10 teams have tallied a combined 19 runs on the Cardinals. Orting responded with 156 runs in that span.

“We play best when we’re loose and relaxed, and relying on each other,” Gresko said. “Whatever happens at the plate… if we have a strikeout, (we) come back in the dugout and know, ‘hey, I can go on that field and I can be there for my girls. I can make it up.’”

Carlon Park hosts the WIAA 2A state fastpitch tournament from May 26-27 in Selah. The Cardinals, barring shocking upsets, will enter the bracket as a top contender.

“We do celebrate (our No. 1 ranking),” Gresko said. “It’s something we have acknowledged. But we also go out every single game knowing we have the ability to beat every single team. And to keep that strong and going, we just have to keep playing like every single game is on the line.”