Jerek Wolcott, Assistant Director for Media Relations – Idaho State Athletics
POCATELLO, Idaho – A coach will look for anything to provide extra motivation for their team. Some do it with a perceived slight from an opponent or the media. Some coaches find motivation in a player that is sick or injured, but some coaches don’t need to find any extra motivation. Some teams find it on their own.
The Idaho State softball team kicked off the 2014 season last week with no extra motivation needed from Head Coach Julie Wright. The players on the team only need to remember the aftermath of the semifinals of the 2013 Big Sky Conference softball tournament.
The Bengals had an exceptional, and in many ways unexpected regular season in 2013. They went 14-4 in the Big Sky Conference (29-23 overall) when they were picked to finish last in the preseason polls and won the right to host the first-ever Big Sky Softball Championship.
ISU beat Sacramento State in the first round of the four-team, double-elimination tournament. In the second round they lost 5-3 to Portland State which dropped the Bengals into a game against Southern Utah for the opportunity to face PSU in the championship. The Bengals fell 5-1 to SUU.
“We stood on that field for thirty minutes after we lost in the semifinals without saying a thing,” Wright said. “This team was so disappointed. The only thing that matters is what we didn’t do.”
With motivation well in hand, the Bengals went to work to get better in the offseason.
“The offseason went wonderful,” Wright said. “We’ve worked harder than we have ever worked, we are stronger than we’ve ever been, and we have a champion’s mentality. I am really excited to see the team do what they did over the summer and the winter break.”
The Bengals will not sneak up on any team this year. Instead of being picked to finish last like last season, Idaho State was picked first, just one vote away from a consensus among the Big Sky coaches.
Sports clichés say that it is harder to stay on top than to get to the top, Wright disagrees with that assumption, at least in the case of the 2014 ISU Softball team.
“I think the preparation for us was easier now that we know what it takes to be a championship team,” Wright said. “We worked harder than we did last season but on the mental side they now know what we have to do. It makes it easier to face that grind knowing what the end result feels like.”
Part of that may be that this team has their goal higher than just a Big Sky title and a trip to the NCAA Regionals.
“This team isn’t satisfied,” Wright said. “They have a Big Sky title under their belt but they want to make an impact on the national level.”
The schedule that Wright has assembled is one that is going to help the Bengals prepare for a rigorous Big Sky schedule and a potentially a trip into the NCAA tournament.
The Bengals play five tournaments that include top level teams like Arizona State, a participant in the 2013 College World Series.
“We face a lot of teams in these tournaments that have great pitchers. It helps our team see the variety of pitches. It will make a big difference when we are in Big Sky games and we aren’t worried about seeing something we haven’t seen before.
“When we play a team like Arizona State it is going really help our pitchers dial in their pitches,” Wright said. “Their ninth hitter could be a fourth hitter at most Big Sky schools. When you face hitters like that and your pitch is off by an inch, it is going the other way.”
The Bengals aren’t intimidated by good hitters because they bring a great lineup as well, including 2013 Big Sky Player of the Year Vicky Galasso, Big Sky Freshman of the Year Maddy Hickman and first-team all-conference players Terah Blackwell and Katelyn Marquez.
Galasso is the clear leader of the team both on the field and in the clubhouse.
“Vicky is a great talent and behind the plate is the general on the field,” Wright said. “When you have that on your team it relaxes the other players. She is our vocal leader.”
Galasso had a stunning .461 batting average in 2013 with a .876 slugging percentage, 18 home runs and 60 RBIs. She also was a rock behind the plate with a .975 fielding percentage.
Blackwell leads as well but she is quieter, her play sets the example for the younger teammates to follow.
“Terah is our emotional leader,” Wright said. “She is our ‘Steady Eddy’ and is the most consistent player on our team. She gets the job done every single time we are on the field and she has a big effect on the rest of the lineup. Vicky doesn’t have the same season hitting that she did last year without Terah in the lineup protecting her.”
Blackwell had a .367 batting average with 12 Home Runs and 49 RBIs last season. Defensively she had a .981 fielding percentage.
Hickman was a big part of the Bengals success in 2013 and Wright expects even more out of the sophomore in 2014.
“Maddy was the Freshman of the Year and she is going to be even better this year,” Wright said. “She is a really, really good player. She is like a vacuum at first base; she never lets a ball past her. It relaxes the entire infield.”
Wright’s faith in Hickman has a lot to do with her .991 fielding percentage and just three errors for the entire 2013 season.
In the circle, Bengal fans can expect some big changes. There will be only one new pitcher in Temple transfer Jessica Tolmie, but the difference will come in first-year assistant and current Team USA pitcher Jessica Moore.
“What our new coach Jessica Moore has done with our pitchers in just six weeks has been phenomenal,” Wright said. “The big difference she has made is on the emotional side. She has changed the preparation and approach of our pitchers and it has been amazing. It is a wild card for us that will make a difference this season.”
Despite high expectations, Wright knows that winning the Big Sky this season will be even tougher than it has been in the past and her team will need to work every day with that champion’s mentality.
“Teams in the Big Sky have hired some great coaches and this league is going to be even better,” Wright said. “I told the girls that the championship is in the past and we need to look forward and keep working to be better than we were last year.”
The one thing Wright wants most out of her team is to focus on the task at hand.
“The thing this team needs to do to win a title is concentrate on one pitch at a time,” Wright said. “Physically we are ready. Emotionally we are ready. Our biggest thing will be to focus and not let a past mistake, or success, take our eyes off of that next pitch.”
The Bengals start the season with the Red Desert Classic in St. George, Utah, February, 6-9.
