Webb does it all to lead West Babylon
West Babylon High School pitcher / cleanup hitter #13 Taylor Webb lifts a pitch into the air in the top 2nd inning of a Suffolk County varsity softball game vs. host Smithtown East High School. (April 29, 2011) Credit: James Escher
Moving the pitching circle back to 43 feet isn't the only thing cranking up the offensive volume on Long Island. Give West Babylon's Taylor Webb a bat and a fresh count, and you're likely to hear some screaming line drives. Or you might notice the loud crack of the bat before a home run, like the three-run shot she drove to left-center in the first inning of Friday's 5-0 win at Smithtown East.
Funny thing is, all that noise dies down to a murmur when she's in the circle. But she's no less electric there, either.
Webb played the part of power plant, turning up the voltage with a home run and 12 strikeouts on the mound for West Babylon (10-2) in a Suffolk League III/IV crossover.
Melissa Frederick was 3-for-4 with a run and Shannon Clancy went 1-for-2 with two runs and a walk, also working behind the plate to frame Webb's pitches and make her "effective wildness" so potent.
"You have to know where to be wild, and where you can get away with certain things," Webb said. "What pitches you can let go and in what spots."
She allowed just one hit, a second-inning infield single to short. It looked for a moment as if Brianna Scotto had caught the ball on a fly, but it was ruled to have hit the dirt first.
No matter. Webb never lost focus, battling -- and usually winning -- deep counts against tenacious Smithtown East (6-5). She didn't permit a runner to reach third base until there were two outs in the seventh.
"She has great resilience. That's her game," coach Nicole Torres said. "She knows how to battle back, and that's what we love about her. She's just a great pitcher, and she knows how to refocus. She knows she wants it."
Webb and Torres, who calls her ace's pitches, go inning-by-inning to determine her most effective offering at that point in the game. Some of Friday's success was predicated on an outstanding curveball that had hitters frozen. Later on, a rise helped keep the shutout intact.
When West Babylon won the state Class AA title in 2008, Webb was just a freshman, serving as backup pitcher and designated hitter. Now a senior in her second full year as a starting pitcher, she sees glimpses of that old championship DNA.
"We've been under the radar so far," Webb said. "But I think we have the mold."
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