Gravette pitcher has future on the mound

— There was always a plan to make Lindsee LaBrecque Gravette’s No. 1 pitcher, it just happened ahead of schedule.

Roughly halfway through the season, former staff ace Shyanne Nichols suffered a minor injury to her foot, so rather than risk it becoming serious, planting it every pitch, Gravette softball coach Taos Jones moved his senior to shortstop, giving LaBrecque, a freshman, her chance.

Turns out, it was a good idea.

Inning after inning, she retired batters from the 4A-1 Conference, allowing only 25 earned runs in 93 2 /3 innings pitched (1.87 ERA), striking out 81, then led the Lady Lions deep in the Class 4A state tournament.

LaBrecque’s effort earned her the All-NWA Media Softball Newcomer of the Year award.

“I just can’t explain it. I knew coming in this year that she was going to help us, pitching wise,” Jones said. “I was unaware she was going to throw a nohitter in the first round of the district tournament. I was unaware she was going to beat Farmington to win the district tournament.

“I can’t put it into words how much it surprised me.”

It’s a surprise he’ll surely accept.

The season, as a whole, fell a little short of where Gravette (19-7) wanted to land, losing to eventual champion Nashville in the quarterfinals of the state tournament. However, beating Farmington was a first for the Lady Lions in at least four years.

Knocking off the Lady Cardinals to win the 4A-1 Tournament was one of LaBrecque’s highlights of the year, even more so after she became aware of what the Gravette-Farmington rivalry meant to her teammates.

“It was awesome. I’d never really played them before, so it wasn’t as intense for me until I got into the game and I realized ‘oh my gosh, this is what they want,’” LaBrecque said. “It was so awesome coming off, beating them.”

LaBrecque, at 5-foot-9, overall, was a little astonished by her strong showing as a freshman, much like her coach, but said that it wasn’t too difficult with her supporting cast.

What made her job even easier was having Nichols always play behind her at shortstop, knowing the veteran standout would never fail to make plays on ground balls or extend advice during a mound visit if she got herself into a jam.

“We had a pretty good year,” LaBrecque said. “Pitching was very nerveracking. It was scary, but my teammates were back there the whole time, cheering me on, so it worked.”

Sports, Pages 10 on 06/13/2012