Deep breaths: Galion's Beck uses pre-pitch ritual to stay level-headed

SHELBY - Before every pitch, Galion's Madison Beck walks to the back of the circle and takes a moment to herself.

"I get anxious if I don't breathe," she said. "So I go up and look at the clouds in the sky. It just calms me down and helps me breathe before I pitch."

Having pitched herself in her younger years, coach Calli Bauer knows the stressors that come with the position.

"We just like to put so much pressure on ourselves because you're the only one — you and the catcher — that touch the ball every single play," Bauer said. "You think it's all on you. But she's realizing that it's not just her."

Beck pitched a gem in Wednesday night's Division III district semifinal against Edison striking out six, giving up one hit and walking one batter. She threw 79 pitches, 46 of which were strikes.

"Me and (catcher) Cece (Campbell) really focused on my spin pitches," Beck said. "Most of my strikeouts were on curveball, so we focused on spin during warm-ups. And I did go to pitching lessons last night to work on spin, spin, and spin. I think that's what really helped me on the mound."

It didn't take Beck long to figure out the umpire's strike zone Wednesday night fanning two in the first inning and two more in the second. Her last two came in the fourth before getting a trio of groundouts to end the game in the fifth.

"Once I found out his strike zone, I was fine with it," Beck said. "Umpires all have different strike zones, good pitchers have to adjust to it. And if you do, you're going to be fine every pitch."

And to make the performance even sweeter, the sophomore slinger threw her 200th career strikeout in Galion's first district tournament appearance since winning a title in 2019 .

"I did get my 100th strikeout last year during our tournament game, too," Beck said. "But doing this in districts is even cooler because it's been a while since we've been here.

The Tigers continue their fairytale run on Friday squaring off with Margaretta in the district championship with a spot in regionals on the line. Regardless of what happens, though, the rebuilding phase seems to be over having won 13 games already which matches the program's four-year total leading up to this season.

"Our team is having so much more fun this year and we don't have to worry about (anything)," Beck said. "We have so many new girls — and good girls — that came out and played with us. And we're getting so many more coming up next year."

zholden@gannett.com

419-617-6018

Twitter/X: @Zachary_Holden

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Deep breaths: Galion's Beck uses pre-pitch ritual to stay level-headed