Mind games: Marlington pitcher Sofia Nase's makes major strides in mental approach to game

LEXINGTON TWP. As the Marlington softball team begins what is expected to be another lengthy tournament run it is easy to focus on the Dukes' prolific offense. It can be easy to see why. The Dukes entered the week with no fewer than five players ranking among the area leaders in RBIs, according to stats submitted to the Repository.

What may have go under the radar is Marlington also possesses perhaps the most improved pitcher in the area to go with its incredible offensive output.

Junior pitcher Sofia Nase showcased how the Dukes can win games with more than just hitting in an impressive 9-1 victory over Streetsboro on Thursday at home in a Hubbard Division II sectional final.

Nase threw nearly six flawless innings. She struck out 13 and allowed only one soft bunt single before being relieved in the seventh inning with a 9-0 lead. That included a stretch where Nase struck out 10 of the first 11 batters of the game.

"This was one of my better games of the year," Nase said with a big smile and an equally large ice packed taped to her arm. "I felt really good today."

It's more than an improved rise ball helping Nase have such dominant showings at times. She also has worked hard to improve her mental approach.

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"I would have little episodes on the mound last year that would cost me," Nase said. "In my head I felt like I had to strike out every batter I faced."

A new pitching coach helped Nase work on that over the last year. She began working with Bill Hileman, who also coaches Nase's sister (and her catcher) Grace Nase during the summer.

"He worked with me a lot on my mental approach to the game," Nase said. "It really helped me change the way I look at things."

The regimen Hileman put Nase on included plenty of reading material.

"He gave me just packets and packets of information that I was expected to look over and know," Nase joked. "It was like having homework in the summer. It felt like I just got done with school work and I ended up with a bunch more."

That homework ended up paying big dividends.

"It stressed trusting your teammates and just focusing on the things that you can control," Nase said. "It's a series of lessons that has really helped me. I'm not worried about striking out every batter and I don't get down if I make a bad pitch or something goes wrong. I think it's actually helped my performance as well because I'm throwing faster. I'm focused on just performing instead of trying to make the perfect throw to get the strikeout every time."

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The changes are obvious to more than just Nase.

"She hits all her spots," Marlington head coach Jessica Collins said. "She trusts her defense and she has done a great job of just going and pitching this year. She's leaving the things that she can't control behind and has seemed a lot more relaxed. She's having a lot of fun and I can tell the lessons she got over the summer have paid off."

That combined with the continued improvement of Nase's pitching skills have led to a successful season. She entered the week with an 11-0 record and 98 strikeouts with 79 innings. Nase's ERA is just 2.04.

"Her rise ball is definitely improved," Collins said. "She has a lot more movement on her pitches than she had last year and it's made her very difficult to track for hitters."

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There is another factor that plays into Nase's improvement.

"My control is so much better," Nase said. "I felt like I had good speed and movement last year but I also felt like I didn't have the control I wanted on my pitches. Some days it felt like the ball would just go wherever it wanted."

These developments have Marlington dreaming of returning to the regional tournament for a second straight year and beyond. Especially combined with an offense that showed it is capable of producing highlights at any moment. Freshman Maria Welder and junior Emma Jackson each smacked two-run home runs for the Dukes in the win over Streetsboro.

Don't expect Marlington to get complacent, though.

"We can't settle," Collins said. "Our expectations for ourselves are high. I thought we would be able to score more today (against Streetsboro) so we need to improve that. Sofia had a great game for us, though, and we are feeling good overall heading into the district tournament at Hubbard."

Reach Cliff at cliff.hickman@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @chickmanREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Pitcher Sofia Nase steps into spotlight for Marlington softball