CHOCOWINITY – Softball is a game predicated on pitching and defense and this year Savannah Mumford gave Southside an instant advantage as soon as she stepped in the circle.
The sophomore fire-baller led the Seahawks to 20-5 record and a trip to the NCHSAA 1-A District round of the playoffs as she compiled an 17-4 record and tallied an astounding 205 strikeouts to only 33 walks. It’s that kind of performance that has led Mumford to be named the Washington Daily News Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season.
“Having Savannah is huge for us,” Southside coach John Lohman said. “We all know that when she is on the rubber we have about a 95 percent chance of winning, maybe more if we do what we’re supposed to do.”
In softball a major part of the game plan is to consistently put pressure on the defense, but with a pitcher like Mumford who can easily reach double-digit strikeout totals, it takes significant pressure off of the fielders.
“We talk about it (as a team) all the time, it doesn’t matter if she gives up a triple because she can strikeout the next two batters,” Lohman said. “So we tell the team ‘don’t flip out over that.’”
Mumford took the area by storm her freshman year but this season teams were a little bit more prepared to face her, especially in the Four Rivers Conference where every lineup loaded with star hitters. With that in mind, Mumford sharpened her ever-improving arsenal and her accuracy.
“Pitching-wise I hit my spots a lot better and threw my curveball a lot more than last year,” Mumford said.
Mumford attacks with a college-level fastball that has been clocked in the low 60s, but being able to throw a curveball has made her more of a complete pitcher.
“It moves down and away (from righthanders) and it’s a little bit off-speed too,” Lohman said. “So you will get a kid who’s swinging out of their underwear trying to catch a fastball and then all of a sudden they get the curve.”
Mumford’s curve has been so effective this season that it replaced her fastball as her go-to pitch.
“Her curveball was huge this year, that became really the shutdown pitch. Last year it was the high fastball, but by the second half of the year people were looking out for it so she needed to add something to be that death pitch and every at-bat and this year it was the curveball. It really got a lot of good hitters out, hitters that I’m scared of when they come to the plate, but she ended up striking them out.”
While Mumford can take over a game on the mound, she can also do the same at the plate. This season the Seahawks’ leadoff batter hit an eye-popping .463 and stole 45 bases. When you add it all up, it calculates to a lot of Southside wins and a ton of potential for the future.
“She’s got the ability to carry a team to the state championship game and win, but she can’t do it alone,” Lohman said. “She definitely needs some help with the bats and defense, but she has the ability. We could have been there last year and we could have been there this year, there’s no doubt.”