In game one against Anderson County, Iola coach Chris Weide noticed the Bulldogs were catching on to his signals to catcher Ashlie Shields when he was trying to call pitches for his star freshman Sierra Snavely.
“The first inning when I was calling pitches, the girls in the other dugout figured it out and they were telling (their hitters), ‘Outside, change-up.’ They figured out the change-up,” Weide said.
Weide then decided to give his catcher full rein.
“I just told Ashlie, ‘All right, you got this,’” Weide said.
The senior catcher managed the game for Snavely, who was on top of her game and the duo rolled through the Bulldog batting order.
“We’ve told Ashlie several times that she is the heart and soul of our team,” Weide said. “If you hear someone screaming on the field, it is Ashlie.”
In game one Snavely held just one run in her team’s 11-1 win.
In game two, the Iola battery was even more in sync.
“In all my years of playing, I’ve never had a catcher who has called the game herself,” Snavely said. “I think Ashlie did an outstanding job of calling the game.”
Snavely mowed through the Bulldogs, allowing only two base runners the entire game on her way to a no-hitter.
“She was super consistent with all of her pitches,” Weide said. “The biggest thing to me is that she was trusting her change-up. She’s been not as confident with it, but tonight she threw it and at least the other team knew she had it.”
In addition to having Shields call the game, the other thing that Snavely credits for her outstanding game was her ability to control the ball.
“I’ve been working on my location,” Snavely said. “I’ve tried to be more spot-on so when we come against competitive teams I have things I can throw to change it up.”
For Snavely, a no-hitter is a huge accomplishment this early in her career, but after the game the young pitcher was quick to point out how big of a win it was for the entire team. The wins come off of a losing streak, giving the girls some much-needed confidence to take into the second half of the season.
“We needed those wins, because they are in our league,” Snavely said. “I think we really came around at practice. We are communicating more and it is starting to show.”
Shields will keep calling the games for Snavely as long as it’s successful, Weide said.
