Latest / Illinois Valley - Shaw Local / Ottawa pitcher Addie Russell and pitching coach Sloan Gayan have a bond beyond signs, charts and pitches

Transcript

Ottawa pitcher Addie Russell and pitching coach Sloan Gayan have a bond beyond signs, charts and pitches · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Ottawa pitcher Addie Russell and pitching coach Sloan gay On
• 0:08
  have a bond beyond signs, charts and pitches. Written by
• 0:13
  Brian Hoxy, this article is being read by an automated
• 0:17
  voice brought to you by Everlett. Ottawa junior pitcher Addie
• 0:22
  Russell and pitching coach Sloan Gayanne have the utmost trust
• 0:25
  in each other's abilities, her experience, her success and being
• 0:30
  around and pitching at the level she has. I trust her,
• 0:33
  Russell said of Sloane. It's rare, but there are times
• 0:36
  I don't necessarily agree with what pitch she calls. But
• 0:39
  in those times, I just try to make the best
• 0:41
  pitch I can. She knows what she's doing, she knows
• 0:45
  what connects with me, what sinks in We really talk
• 0:48
  the same language. To have her as my pitching coach
• 0:51
  is pretty special. As an ausophomore, Russell finished with a
• 0:54
  sixteen eleven record, two hundred and eight strikeouts and a
• 0:57
  one point three six earned run average over one hundred
• 1:00
  and seventy nine and two thirds innings. She was awarded
• 1:03
  third team i CA three eight All State accolades, a
• 1:07
  first team spot on the Interstate eight All Conference Team
• 1:10
  and was a unanimous pick to the Times All Area
• 1:12
  First Team. Heading into Wednesday's Class three A Geneseo Regional
• 1:17
  semifinal against Rochelle Russell is fourteen to six with a
• 1:21
  two point two to three er with one hundred and
• 1:24
  twenty three strikeouts and just fifteen walks in one hundred
• 1:27
  and twenty five innings. There are times, not often, though,
• 1:31
  when I call a pitch that I know she doesn't
• 1:33
  want to throw, but I really want it against a
• 1:35
  certain hitter because I feel it's the best pitch for
• 1:37
  the situation. Gahan said. This is when the true trust
• 1:41
  comes in. Addie trusts me enough to throw that pitch.
• 1:45
  I'm all for pitchers calling me off when they are
• 1:47
  convicted on a pitch they want instead. Addie and I
• 1:51
  have trust in each other and ninety nine percent of
• 1:53
  the time are on the same page. Guy On was
• 1:56
  the Times twenty nineteen Softball Player of the Year, a
• 1:59
  uni unanimous Times All Area First Team pick, named to
• 2:03
  the Illinois Coaches Association three A All State First Team
• 2:06
  and Northern Illinois Big twelve West Division First Team, as
• 2:10
  well as being the league's co MVP. Her senior season
• 2:12
  at Ottawa She was twenty one seven with a one
• 2:15
  point four to eight RA and three hundred and fifteen
• 2:19
  strikeouts over one hundred and seventy nine and two thirds innings.
• 2:23
  She made forty six appearances, thirteen starts, and won eight
• 2:27
  games for the University of Kentucky in her four year
• 2:30
  pitching career at the d I level. Addie is a
• 2:33
  much different pitcher than I was, but we are also
• 2:35
  the same in a lot of ways. Gayon said. She
• 2:38
  throws the same pitch as I did, and she normally
• 2:41
  has one pitch every game that is really on. I
• 2:43
  feel like because of that, it makes it very easy
• 2:46
  to call pitches for her during a game. The communication
• 2:50
  between Russell and guy On is pretty simple. Guy On
• 2:53
  charts the type and locations of pitches thrown to each batter.
• 2:57
  Before each pitch, Russell looks over to the dugout to
• 3:00
  get a three digit hand signal from guy On. Russell
• 3:04
  then has a chart on her wristband to decipher the code.
• 3:07
  I normally look at the charts before a game, especially
• 3:10
  if it's a team we've already played this year, and
• 3:13
  during the game sometimes, Russell said. We also talk about
• 3:16
  certain hitters and how she feels will be the best
• 3:19
  way to attack them. The wristband is just a bunch
• 3:22
  of color coded squares with abbreviations for the type of
• 3:25
  pitch and location. When I get her signs, it's just
• 3:29
  a matter of cross referencing the numbers on my wristband.
• 3:32
  We talk a lot in between innings about what pitches
• 3:35
  are really working well that day, or how a pitch
• 3:38
  that wasn't working well two innings ago is working now.
• 3:42
  I know Sloan sees a lot of that from the dugout,
• 3:45
  but I also think communicating with her on those things
• 3:48
  is only going to help us adjust our approach. Gayan
• 3:52
  says that along with the actual chart and the results,
• 3:55
  she also makes notes on how a batter reacted to
• 3:57
  a pitch. I chart every game. I want to have
• 4:01
  an idea when a batter comes up the third time
• 4:03
  what has and hasn't worked, Gayane said. Sometimes it's a
• 4:07
  small sample, but along with the chart, I make notes
• 4:10
  on other things that can help me make the best choice.
• 4:13
  Gayane said two instances came to mind where the chart
• 4:16
  and communication were keys to a successful outcome against LaSalle Peru.
• 4:21
  There was a situation in a tight spot where I
• 4:24
  knew after reviewing the chart that a change up or
• 4:27
  consecutive change ups were the play. Addie doesn't throw her
• 4:30
  change up often, but she trusted me, made two really
• 4:33
  good pitches and we got the out to end the threat.
• 4:37
  There was also a game where Addie came in after
• 4:39
  the first inning and said her curveball just wasn't there.
• 4:42
  The game plan was to pitch most of our opposing
• 4:45
  batters away, but we switched it up and went inside instead,
• 4:48
  and she pitched a great game. It's all about the trust,
• 4:51
  Gayanne said,