Elite softball arms: These pitchers have impressed in the South Sound this spring
Whether she’s facing the first batter of the day or the bases are loaded with the game on the line, Olympia High School senior pitcher Sami Potvin is never rattled.
She has put in the work from a young age, working with older players like former Bonney Lake star Brooke Nelson, who is tearing it up for the Washington Huskies’ softball team these days.
Potvin has worked on spinning all her pitches: a fastball, rise ball, a curve and a changeup. She’s composed, prepared, ready to attack any lineup.
“Just the work she puts in,” said Olympia coach Drew Wellner. “When she came in as a freshman, she was immediately the starting pitcher for us.”
Potvin likes the team aspect of the sport, but lives for the individual nature of pitching. Bring on the pressure and the spotlight.
“You’re able to focus on how you can improve yourself and help improve the team,” Potvin told the TNT at practice last week. “My mindset is to make the defense work as little as possible and just do my thing and relax. I noticed that I do best when I’m just really trusting my pitches and focusing on dominating the batter, whether there’s nobody on base or the bases are loaded. Just focusing on the batter and what I can do to beat them.”
All season, she has beaten them. In 62 innings pitched, Potvin has a 7-1 record, a 1.92 earned run average, 135 strikeouts and just 11 walks. Her sister Sydney, a freshman, is the team’s catcher. She’s grown used to seeing these dominant performances.
“She’s very effective,” Sydney said. “She can hit her spots, she’s very smart. She throws great pitches, has really good spin. … For a long time, her focus was on working on spin before speed. Then her speed came on. With that spin, her rise ball, her curveball are just nasty pitches. Catching her, I can really see the movement. It just keeps hitters off balance.”
Her sweeping curve is perhaps her best pitch, although Potvin’s changeup has improved and sits about 20 miles per hour off her fastball.
“That just has a lot of good hitters really off,” Wellner said.
Potvin’s approach has matured over the course of her high school career. While she might have given into hitters after working an 0-2 count, she’s learned to let them chase something off the plate.
“Changing eye level,” Potvin said. “Really get them to get looking low and out and then up and in, or the opposite and then change speeds to catch them off guard. Just changing it up so they’re not expecting where I’m going next.”
Potvin has been one of the South Sound’s best pitchers this spring. Here’s a look at a group of pitchers in the area who have been lights out this season.
ASPYN EVANSON, LHP – Bonney Lake, jr.
The skinny: The graduation of TNT All-Area arm Bella Carazo last spring left big shoes for the incoming junior to fill, but Evanson gracefully assumed the role of Panthers ace and then some. With the 3A PCL’s best offense in tow, Evanson has guided Bonney Lake to another undefeated season over league counterparts. Southpaw tosses signature fastball that touches 55 mph, mixes changeup.
Stats: 59 ⅔ innings pitched, 10-0 record, 1.88 ERA, 83 strikeouts, 40 walks.
Best pitches: Fastball, rise-ball, changeup.
Coach Kate Zender: “She’s a lefty… the lefty movement, the kids aren’t used to. The spin is opposite. It’s coming off the other side of the hip. … She’s built a lot of confidence with her team behind her. She knows she’s got a really important role.”
ELLA FERGUSON, RHP – Tumwater, jr.
The skinny: The reigning 2A Evergreen MVP has a knack for rising to any occasion. Ferguson’s domineering mound presence and diverse pitch arsenal keeps opponents off-balance, and strikeouts have become the expectation in high-leverage moments. She throws “a little bit of everything,” but Ferguson loves her curveball. Fastball tops at 65 mph. University of Nevada commit.
Stats: 67 innings pitched, 6-2 record, 1.67 ERA, 0.881 WHIP, 133 strikeouts, 18 walks.
Best pitches: Curveball, changeup.
Coach Ashley Lupinski: “I am always confident with Ella on the mound, regardless of good or bad, whatever happens. She wants to win, and that’s half the battle.”
EMMA HOFFMEISTER, RHP – Franklin Pierce, sr.
The skinny: Cardinals senior mixes plenty of movement with excellent command, posting a 70-19 strikeout-to-walk ratio through eight appearances. Commanding presence in the circle. Two-way threat with .357 batting average and nine RBI.
Best pitches: Screwball, rise-ball, changeup, drop-ball.
Stats: 38 innings pitched, 5-0 record, 1.47 ERA, 70 strikeouts, 19 walks
Coach Nicole Hadley: “Even if she gets behind in the count, her ability to come back. Having that confidence, knowing she can get hitters out, and going deep in counts. Not worrying about that. Believing in herself and in her ability as a pitcher to get the job done.”
RILEY McGEE, RHP – Sumner, sr.
The skinny: McGee possesses five pitches, but the nasty, breaking stuff is perhaps her best. Improved command aids McGee’s silly 52-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio and has Sumner in the thick of a competitive 4A SPSL race in the closing weeks. Mixes fastball, drop-ball, and changeup with stellar screwballs and curveballs. Northwest Nazarene commit.
Stats: 38 ⅔ innings pitched, 2-2 record, 1.99 ERA, 52 strikeouts, seven walks.
Best pitches: Screwball, curveball.
Coach Megan Gaines: “By far, the best year that I’ve seen Riley really hitting spots and doing what she needs to do. … Part of it is her mentality (of) going out there and saying, ‘I’m going to be a tough person to face.’”
KEAGAN NORFLEET, RHP — Rogers, sr.
The skinny: This innings eater throws a rise ball, drop ball, curveball, screwball and changeup. Has the confidence to throw her screwball for strikes in any count. St. Martin’s commit also plays outfield.
Stats: 66 innings pitched, 7-4 record, 2.55 ERA, 95 strikeouts, 21 walks.
Best pitch: Screwball.
Coach Mike Hawkins: “She’s a tough kid who works hard at the game and always wants the ball in the circle. She’s a very confident player in all aspects of the game. She’s a competitor at everything she does.:
JASMYN POLANCO, RHP – Timberline, sr.
The skinny: 680 career strikeouts and counting for Timberline’s senior ace. Polanco wants to hit 800 by the end of spring and, including plenty of postseason action, remains on pace to hit that coveted number. She’s a two-way star with team-highs in home runs (four) and RBI (14), but it’s the TNT All-Area arm’s heroics in the circle that has Timberline in first place of the 3A SSC.
Stats: 65 innings pitched, 9-1 record, 1.51 ERA, 88 strikeouts, 34 walks
Best pitches: Changeup, Rise-ball, curveball.
Coach Lynsi Polanco: “She worked really hard in the offseason in the weight room. Really wanted to gain strength, also to help with endurance. Putting in the work in other aspects of the game has been a contributing factor for her.”
SAMI POTVIN, RHP — Olympia, sr.
The skinny: A star since stepping on Olympia’s campus, Potvin has been a strikeout machine this spring, changing hitters’ eye level with her rise ball, sweeping curve and improved changeup.
Stats: 62 innings pitched, 7-1 record, 1.92 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 135 strikeouts, 11 walks.
Best pitch: Curveball.
Coach Drew Wellner: “Her location. The spin on the ball that she can generate is awesome. The curveball is just nasty, the rise ball with it. This year, she has developed her changeup. That just has a lot of the really good hitters off.”
ALEXA RAMIREZ, RHP — Tahoma, fr.
The skinny: This freshman is playing beyond her years for the Bears, equipped with an arsenal of different pitches, all of which she locates for strikes. Throws a rise ball, change up, sinker, slider and a breaking ball — sort of a curve, but not completely — that can break either in toward batters or away from them.
Stats: 56 innings pitched, 8-1 record, 1.50 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 89 strikeouts, nine walks.
Best pitches: Slider, rise ball.
Coach Darren Rawie: “She has everything. … She spots the ball very well. Her ball-to-strike ratio is very good, very few walks. … The most effective part is her location, being able to hit spots at virtually any time in the count. … She hits the perimeter of the strike zone very well.”
MADISON WALLS, RHP – Fife, sr.
The skinny: Walls has faced 190 batters across her senior campaign and struck out 81 of them. Fife’s No. 1 mixes four pitches, but a developing changeup could add another layer of deception for the West Virginia Tech commit. Fastball sits in the low-60s.
Stats: 41 ⅓ innings pitched, 5-2 record, 2.26 ERA, 80 strikeouts, 15 walks
Best pitches: Fastball, rise-ball.
Coach Ron Angelot: “I’ve caught her a little… (the rise-ball) starts in the zone, and it’s coming at you so fast, you don’t have much time to react to it. By that time, it’s around the top of your shoulders. … If I have to go to one person, she’s the one I’m going to.”
McKENNA WARD, RHP – Auburn Mountainview, fr.
The skinny: The Lions knew they had a pitcher in the pipeline, but they couldn’t have expected ace production from a freshman. Ward is the ultimate strike-thrower and fools opponents with her signature curveball that plunges to the dirt. Top pitcher for an Auburn Mountainview program in NPSL-title contention. Fanned career-high 17 batters on April 9 at Kennedy Catholic.
Stats: 37 ⅓ innings pitched, 4-2 record, 2.25 ERA, 1.018 WHIP, 68 strikeouts, nine walks.
Best pitches: Curveball, rise-ball.
Coach Kristin Herren: “She’s got one mode. It’s game mode, all the time. No smiles. Just a serious face. She goes out there and she gets it done. … She’s made huge improvements, even from the beginning of the year. She throws pretty hard. But learning: When do I throw a ball instead of a strike? When do I go out of the zone? Things like that, she’s really improved.”
SARAH WRIGHT, RHP — Kentwood, sr.
The skinny: The News Tribune’s 2022 All-Area player of the year after posting a 0.33 earned run average with 330 strikeouts during her sophomore year, Wright has been one of the state’s most dominant pitchers (and high school wrestlers) since stepping on campus. Throws hard, working a mid-60s fastball with a high-speed rise ball that most hitters can’t catch up to. Also throws a changeup and screwball. Arizona commit.
Stats: 26 innings pitched, 4-0 record, 1.35 ERA, 67 strikeouts, seven walks.
Best pitch: Fastball.
Assistant coach Kayla Hanus: “She just goes right at them. She’s fierce, fearless on the mound. She’s just an over intense athlete. … She just has that mentality that you can’t teach. You either have it or you don’t. Sarah definitely has it.”
This story was originally published April 29, 2024 at 5:00 AM.
