Confident Hosfield hasn't had 'best stuff' all the time for Lady Vols

Lady Vols to host SEC tourney at Lee Stadium

Pitching is to a fastpitch softball what an engine is to a race car.

Teams go nowhere fast without it.

Hitting, defense and strategy all affect the outcome, but ultimately the pitcher determines it, perhaps to a greater degree than any position in any other team sport.

The Tennessee softball program, once a doormat, quickly reached its greatest heights under co-head coaches Ralph and Karen Weekly with Monica Abbott on the hill.

Abbott, arguably the greatest pitcher in NCAA history, led the Lady Vols to three final-four appearances in the Women's College World Series over the past four years.

Abbott's heroics led UT to gain the type of national recognition and fan following that it takes to build its $11 million state-of-the-art facility.

Lee Stadium, in its second year of existence, is holding the SEC softball tournament beginning with today's 11 a.m. game between third-seed Georgia and sixth-seed Kentucky.

No. 2-ranked Alabama (45-8) and Arkansas (27-26) follow before No. 1-ranked Florida (52-3) plays a 5 p.m. game against Auburn (29-26).

Fifth-seeded Tennessee, 37-15-1 overall but a mere 12-12-1 in the SEC, plays fourth-seed LSU (32-15-1) at 7:30.

Taking center stage in the middle of the pitching circle is Lady Vols freshman pitching ace Cat Hosfield.

Hosfield, last year's national player of the year out of Murfreesboro Riverdale High School, was a can't-miss prospect who has somehow started missing.

Is the freshman wearing down? Are the injuries she suffered to both ankles over the past two seasons catching up with her? Is she tipping her pitches? Not controlling her poise?

The questions have raced through the minds of Hosfield as well as her teammates and coaches as the year has progressed.

Hosfield has surrendered four late-inning home runs that has put the Lady Vols in peril, including two walk-off home runs that led to defeats at Kentucky and Ole Miss.

Contrast that to No. 1-ranked Florida's Stacey Nelson. Nelson, the SEC's Pitcher of the Year and top 10 finalist for national player of the year, hasn't allowed a home run to any of the 769 batters she has faced this year.

"That's one of the most amazing statistics I've ever seen,'' said Ralph Weekly, who has coached on two U.S. Olympic teams. "It's phenomenal; no question, she's the best player in our league.''

Hosfield, meanwhile, may rank as the most resilient.

Weekly said Hosfield is the "strongest-willed'' pitcher he has ever coached, even after her late-inning miscues.

"I feel awful for the team; no one can understand that feeling unless you're a pitcher,'' said Hosfield, a bubbly 19 year old who could just as easily be mistaken for a cheerleader as softball player. "I have thought about everything, and it has gotten me down at times. But I know that every day is a new day.

"I'm still confident. I don't think anyone can hit my best stuff.''

Hosfield (27-11, 2.51 ERA) said she knows she'll need to throw her best stuff to get past any team in this tournament - three of the nation's top-five RPI teams reside in the SEC .

"I'd heard that anyone in the SEC could beat you, but ... finally, against Mississippi State, I really realized I couldn't just blow through the SEC,'' said Hosfield, who gave up a three-run, late-inning homer en route to a home loss against the Bulldogs. "I lost a little swagger.''

Weekly turned to his more experienced pitchers halfway through the conference season. But sophomore Ashton Ward (3-2, 2.61) has had issues in pressure situations.

Senior Danielle Pieroni (6-2, 1.91), a high school phenom who never lost a start at Goodpasture Christian, knocked some rust off after not pitching much her first three seasons and delivered some quality appearances.

But Pieroni's reliance on her movement pitches leaves her little margin for error and has led to inconsistency.

Finally, it was Jessica Spigner's turn in the circle. Spigner (1-0, 4.31), perhaps the most competitive player on the team, had no intention of pitching in college but had even less of an intention to lose games.

Spigner shutdown the No. 1 hitting team in the SEC at Georgia, but thrust into a bases-loaded situation against mighty Alabama last weekend, proved human.

"Being put in a terrible situation helps you grow as a pitcher,'' Spigner responded. "I think all of our pitchers are learning to handle difficult situations. I think it was our pitchers not having faith in their pitches, being skeptical of themselves.''

Obviously, there's no room for that in the SEC, as Spigner added, "You can't let up on one pitch in this league, or they take you deep.''

Hosfield is past the point of feeling pressure as she enters today's action.

For her, it's all about her routine and the next pitch: Walk to the back of the circle, walk directly toward the batter, and, "take a deep breath, see it, throw it.''

If only it were as simple as turning the key to start the engine.