FeedsPitch perfect
Northville hurlers top of class
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From left, Northville hurlers Jenna Dumbleton, Allison Holmes and Samantha Doud are some of the best in the area and have helped the Lady Mustangs to a 23-3 overall record with a 13-3 conference and a 9-0 division record—good for the division crown. ThRandy Jackson is known for commenting on perfect pitch or the lack thereof on everyone’s favorite glitzy karaoke show ”American Idol,” but the only idols that are truly deserving of recognition for their pitch performance are in Northville.
They are of course the Lady Mustangs’ varsity softball hurlers Jenna Dumbleton, Allison Holmes and Samantha Doud. And the only problem Northville Coach Teryn Chrzanowski faces each week is which star to put in the circle. The three pitchers are a combined 22-3 for the season.
Northville is undefeated, 12-0, in the Western Lakes conference. The Lady Mustangs clinched a division title (8-0) with a 7-0 victory—or a 7-Poof win, as Doud might say—over Plymouth on Friday in large part to their performances in the circle.
“It’s a blessing to have three good pitchers on one team,” Chrzanowski said. “Allison has really stepped up this year and has faced some of the toughest competition in the state. Jenna is also a very strong pitcher whose change up is amazing and Sam does a good job throwing the ball over the plate. She’s gained some speed and her change has improved.”
Dumbleton, a senior that started pitching at the age of eight, was a varsity star as a freshman and has only grown stronger and brighter through the last three years. She was slowed by an injury some this year but still posted big numbers. She is 10-0, pitching 52 and a third innings with 71 strikeouts and a 1.577 ERA.
Her injury only affected the amount of time she spends in the circle but not in other positions. When not throwing she is the starting shortstop and is the team’s second leading hitter with a .419 batting average.
“Jenna is a tremendous fielder and has been offensively on fire, hitting .419 as the number-two batter,” Chrzanowski. “She is a truly an all-around player.”
Holmes, also a senior that started pitching lessons in seventh grade when she started to get into serious travel ball, has been brilliant this year. She is 11-3 and has two saves in 93 and a third innings pitched. She’s faced 341 batters and has sat 154 for of them down and is the proud owner of a shiny 0.825 ERA before the shutout against Plymouth.
Her only mishaps were 1-0 losses to Monroe, Fenton (ranked fifth in Division 1) and a 3-0 loss to Tecumseh (ranked second in Division 2). On the other side she has several key wins under her belt. She beat Wayland (at the time ranked fourth in Division 2), Sterling Heights Stevenson (ranked fifth in Division 1) and Anchor Bay (ranked fourth in Division 1).
“She throws heat with a great rise ball,” Chrzanowski. “She does a wonderful job getting the strikeout when we need to get out of a jam. She doesn’t walk too many hitters and she has been successful at getting ahead in the count.”
Doud, the youngest of the three as a junior and possibly the future of the Northville pitching, earned one win and a save this year. She’s given up only one hit against 23 batters in seven innings.
“Sam has mostly been seeing time in the outfield or as the designated player this year, but she will get more time on the mound over the summer and during her senior season,” Chrzanowski. “It’s been awesome having three pitchers to pitch batting practice. That way our hitters get a lot of live hitting and our pitchers don’t get too tired out.”
Holmes said the pitching has improved this year, not that it was bad last year, because everyone in another year older, stronger and more experienced. That goes for the entire team and the coaching staff, too.
“I think there is strong trust between the coaches and all of the players,” Holmes added. “Since we’ve all grown together, they’ve grown as a coaching staff and we’ve grown as players and have gotten better overall.”
Of course Holmes, Dumbleton and Doud are the first to admit that their overall success relies heavily on the team around them and on the experience of what is arguably the most important defensive player on the field—the catcher.
That role falls on junior Sarah Rounsifer, who is one of the team’s most prolific hitters.
“We completely trust her,” Holmes said. “With her experience she knows what pitches to call.”
“She has a lot of experience from all of the summer teams that she’s been on,” Dumbleton added. “She’s an amazing catcher and an amazing player. I know when I’m struggling on the mound she will come out and we’ll have a nice little talk and it calms me down.”
The rest falls on defense and at bats.
“This year our defense is a lot tougher and more solid than it has been in the past,” Dumbleton said. “We have such a consistent hitting team right now. That is what is mostly winning games for us—the offense—and the defense. It helps a lot when you’re pitching to have the team behind you.”
Although the Lady Mustangs are serious about the game and winning, they know how to have fun—a main reason the team has gelled so well this year.
“American Idol” might actually not be too far off for Doud and Dumbleton, who like to sing and dance the “Cupid Shuffle” with other players on the team before and during games and, well, just about anytime they can.
“We know if we have fun and play well we can beat anybody,” Holmes said.
The true test for Northville and the Cupid Shuffle and other superstitious rituals will be in a week and a half when districts start. Northville opens with a pre-district bout with North Farmington on Tuesday, May 27. Last year they lost their pre-district match to Farmington Hills Mercy, 2-1. This year they hope to meet and beat Mercy.
“Knock on wood,” Dumbleton said, while rapping her knuckles lightly on the top of her head—another ritual she has.
To make it there and accomplish that goal it is a matter of confidence.
“If we keep our bats going it makes it easier on the defense—not just mentally on us,” Doud said. “We have to keep pitching our best and everybody else has stay confident. Everybody has a lot of confidence in each other.”
“This is probably the best team that I’ve been on,” Dumbleton added. “We definitely have a good chance to go to states.”
If not they will always have the “Cupid Shuffle.”
