Ace pitcher works to perfect her game
Continuing to impress, junior Lady Blackhawk Emory Bowlin has struck out 62 batters in 30 innings so far this year, according to Lady Blackhawk head coach Josh Reynolds. She has walked four and has five wins, one loss.
Bowlin has already committed to play softball at the University of Central Arkansas.
Offensively, she currently has a .412 AVG and 7 RBI.
Quiet, gentle humility belies the drive, the skill, the talent wrapped up in the ace pitcher.
Pitcher for the Lady Blackhawks, Bowlin has pitched several “perfect” games and continues to amaze sports pundits.
Bowlin, 17, showed promise as a freshman and continues to astound sports pundits.
“She is the most humble player I have ever coached in any sport,” said Elzie Yoder, assistant coach for the softball Lady Hawks.
“She is extremely, extremely humble,” Reynolds said.
Bowlin, the daughter of Mindy and Daniel Bowlin, and granddaughter of Brenda Gabbert of Springdale, has a younger sister, Linley, who also plays ball.
Not only does she excel at pitching softball, she is an excellent student. Bowlin has a 4.2 grade point average and just scored 27 on the ACT.
“She does school even better than she does softball,” Yoder said.
“I’m in FFA, Student Council and am the class representative for the sophomore class,” she said. When she’s not studying or practicing, she likes to make t-shirts with cricket, bake and be outside with her animals — fainting goats and cattle — a Charolais, a Hereford and Angus.
She’s played softball since kindergarten but actually started playing t-ball on the boys team when she was 4 years old.
“My mom played in college,” she said. “I started throwing the ball with her and really liked it.”
Bowlin began playing travel softball. Her mother is her pitching coach and her travel coach. Melissa Witcher is her hitting coach.
Bowlin said building up strength and being sure she’s not making the wrong motions are part of the coaching. “My mom was adament about teaching me to go fast and not worry about mechanics. I can just throw the ball.”
Yoder works with Bowlin on the school team.
“The movement of her balls — the screwball, the curve ball, it’s tricky. I looks like it’s coming perfectly then jumps the other way. It’s tricky enough on the eyes. It’s hard to figure out where it’s going.”
“Because she’s on a flat mount, she can make the ball jump and move in different directions, different trajectories so you never know where it’s going.”
She said she mostly works in adjustments in the game and in the mental attitude. She said pitching is 80 percent mental.
“It’s the biggest mental position on the field,” Reynolds said. “If she just walks a batter, she’s just put someone on base who could score.”
“I call all the pitches during the game. I let her know when to throw a curve ball or a rise ball. Every batter is approached different. Different pitches are more strategic for different batters,” she said.
“I’m just amazed that I get to call her pitches … But, if you call the wrong pitch, which we don’t focus on, we control what we can control,” she said. “We do not focus on her getting the perfect game.”
“We work very, very well together. We trush each other a lot and I think that’s one of the essential pieces,” she said. “There are times when she can shake me off and deny the pitch. I just depends on the situation. It’s a very situational game — batter per batter, swing by swing.”
“It’s amazing what she’s capable of. I never saw a 21 strike out. I’ve never seen two perfect games in a week,” Yoder said last year. “Up until now, I think she’s been a little underrated. I’m excited to see where she goes.”
“I don’t talk to pitchers,” Reynolds said, explaining that he and pitchers have a “love/hate relationship.”
“They can drive you nuts,” he said. “Pitchers are very, very special creatures. The position is so mental, you have to be very careful and pick and chose the times to talk to them.” Yoder concurred. “Every pitcher is emotional when they’re on the mound for different reasons. Sometimes you have to just joke with them to change their focus. Sometimes you have to be more stern.”
Yoder said she tries to help her pitchers not get stuck on the last pitch they threw or the last person they walked.
“If I let her think about her mistakes, the mistakes will only get worse. Put it behind you. Finish the game. Throw the ball. Deal with it,” Yoder said.
Reynolds said Bowlin has the same “quiet, introverted storm, the same demeanor” on and off the field.
“Her body language does not change,” Yoder said. “We’ve spent a lot of time together.
Team mate Callie Catcher, a senior, has been catching for Bowlin for eight years.
“Callie can tell more than anybody about the pitch,” Yoder said. “Callie is the biggest key. It is essential to have a catcher that the pitcher trusts — someone who knows what she’s doing and has her back.”
“Me and Emory played travel ball together since we were 10 years old,” Cooper said. “We just grew up just pitching and catching with one another. That has really grown our friendship. We know each other really well — our strengths and weaknesses.”
“We know what pitches to throw, what not to throw to some batters and what will get outs. We work really well together,” Cooper said.
Yoder said Cooper knows how to “push her buttons,” how to motivate Bowlin.
“When she gets irritated or when she is a little mad, she normally throws better or a little harder,” Cooper said. “So over the years, I’ve figured that out. So i know how to push her and make her better.”
“With me and Emory, I know where she misses. I know what all her pitches are going to do,” Cooper said. “I know what I can throw the ball to pick off runners. When she’s pitching, I’ll know what we don’t want to throw this day.”
Bowlin said she can’t really “see” the ball curve or zig zag, but Cooper can.
“For Emory, I know how to move. Like her curve ball, if it’s not breaking, I know where to move so I can get around the ball better … to fool batters,” she said.
“When I’m on the mound, I spin the ball hard and throw hard and trust myself. I know there’s always somebody working harder than I am. Especially if you play college ball, once you get to college, you’re not going to be the best. You’re competing for your spot every single day,” she said. “If I’m throwing badly, I have to shake it off and go on to the next pitch.”
Bowlin said she often practices three or four nights a week. She finds herself tired after a game and tries to focus on taking care of her arm … so she can throw harder.
She said she wants to become a veterinarian and so plans to attend college and play college ball.
“I don’t know where I’m going to end up, but I’m excited to see where it is,” she said.