Most pitchers begin each game with their best stuff and are most effective the first time through the batting order before arm fatigue causes their performance to gradually decline.
The Gatesville junior, though, gets stronger as the game progresses and has been nearly untouchable in the crucial innings during the Lady Hornets’ school-record season.
“My arm is so weird,” said Leib, who is 23-8 with an 0.88 earned-run average and a single-season school-record 263 strikeouts. “It’s like whenever it gets more tired, it seems like I pitch better and focus more mentally than trying to overthrow and overpower people.”
According to Leib, once when her team played seven consecutive games during a tournament, she had the most movement on her pitches at the conclusion of the day.
It’s a mystery Leib and her teammates can’t figure out, nor do they want to. They just hope her pitching prowess continues when Gatesville (32-9) faces Needville (33-8) in a semifinal game at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the University Interscholastic League Class 3A State Softball Tournament at Texas’ McCombs Field in Austin.
Leib’s warmup routine is also a bit unusual.
Whereas senior Randi Smith needs 10 minutes to get her arm loose, the Lady Hornets’ workhorse usually spends 30-45. She’ll start her preparation by throwing overhand, then doing wrist splits and rotations for each of her seven pitches before putting her arm in the 9- and 12-o’clock positions and ending with a full-circle motion until she feels good.
When game time arrives, the always-nervous Leib focuses on hitting her spots detailed in the scouting report. With each batter, she reads, reacts and adjusts accordingly.
“The first inning is, ‘I wonder what they’re going to do,’” said Leib, who is hitting .412 with 32 runs batted in. “I settle down because we know their tendencies of where to pitch them and where not to.”
Said fifth-year Gatesville coach Michelle Bartch: “I think she needs to get on the mound and feel the atmosphere of the game - just getting settled into her arm. She’s done so well from the fourth inning on.”
That’s the point of the game when Leib turns it up a notch.
During Game 1 of Gatesville’s bi-district win against Wimberley, the Lady Hornets committed two errors and trailed 2-0 in the first inning. The team regrouped as Leib struck out five of the next six batters, then escaped a sixth-inning jam for the 5-2 win.
In the Region I quarterfinals against District 7-3A rival West, which had swept the Lady Hornets during league play, shortstop Kylie Nichols made a great defensive play before Leib struck out the final batter in the fifth inning en route to a four-hitter.
Her latest showing of mental toughness occurred in Gatesville’s regional-clinching victory against Fredericksburg.
With her team leading 1-0 in the fourth, Leib allowed a one-out triple but coaxed a harmless popup before Nichols delivered another defensive gem to preserve the shutout.
“I’ve got a great defense behind me,” said Leib, who holds the Lady Hornets’ career mark with 501 strikeouts in her three seasons. “If they (opponents) hit it, they’re probably going to get out. I just focus on that instead of trying to strike everybody out.”
Said Bartch: “She’s a great competitor. She shows a lot of poise on the mound. They hit a triple off her and it didn’t faze her.”
That composure on the field has allowed the junior to shine on a team filled with senior stars. Along the way, she’s matured into a take-charge pitcher who’s started nine of Gatesville’s 11 playoff games during its playoff journey.
“It’s a big responsibility, but I really try and grasp it,” Leib said. “I try not to freak out about anything. People are looking at us and they’re seeing our reactions. I just try to relax and stay focused.”
Said Bartch: “That’s just the kind of player she is. She’s a clutch player and really comes through for you in the end."
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
