For the last several years, Wetumpka has become familiar with Baldwin County on the softball diamond. So the Indians know what they’re up against, and that’s namely pitching ace Madilyn Bird.
“She’s probably the best pitcher in (Class) 6A, if not across the state,” Wetumpka coach Daryl Otwell said. “Obviously, we got a tough, tough draw right off the bat. The biggest thing is our pitchers are going to have to give us a chance, and we’re going to have to manufacture runs to the best of our ability.”
Otwell is fully expecting a low-scoring affair when the Indians face off against Baldwin County at 10:45 a.m. today. And as familiar as Wetumpka is with playing in the regional and state tournaments, the Indians also have a pair of very young pitchers who are going to have to get into their grooves quickly.
Otwell said it’ll be a game-time decision who gets the start.
“It’ll either be our eighth-grade pitcher Sophie Arant or sophomore Abigail Adams,” Otwell said. “The biggest thing when you go into a game like this and play a pitcher of this caliber, you automatically as a coach think it’s going to be a low-scoring game. So the challenge for the young pitchers that don’t get a lot of strikeouts is they got a to do a good job of getting groundballs and flyballs, and then the defense has to play really well behind them.”
As for the offense, Wetumpka is used to scoring a lot of runs. However, against Bird, Otwell knows it’s going to be most important to take advantage of every opportunity presented to the Indians and to stay focused the entire game.
“We just have to try to creat that opportunity for us to get a big hit and you always have to have that mindset,” Otwell said. “In the realistic world, when you face a pitcher of that talent level, you don’t go out there and expect 10 or 12 runs, right? You expect it to be a low score and well-rounded defense is going to be needed.”
