The Pilot News - Trojans to take on Whiting at regional

“I don’t think we’ll be afraid of them,” said Triton softball head coach Steve McBride. “I don’t think they’ll go in and be fearful of them. It’s one game at a time. We’ve got to go in and play the best team in 1A, and we’ve got to win... Probably on paper things ain’t looking too good. But the game’s not played on paper.”
Foremost among McBride’s concerns is Whiting junior pitcher Mel Dumezich.
Dumezich boasts a 0.21 era with roughly 17 strikeouts a game. In Whiting’s 10-0 sectional championship win over Washington Township last week, she struck 20.
“She’s the real deal, I’ve seen her pitch,” said McBride. “And I read in the Gary paper she’s batting (.624) with 15 home runs this year.
“She’s fast, and she’s got a good rise-ball. That’s not a good combination for any softball team.”
Given Whiting’s prodigious pitching, the Trojans have been focusing mainly on hitting at practice throughout the week.
“The major part of our practices have been really concentrating on hitting, and we want to try and put the ball in play,” McBride said. “We’re going to have some strike outs, but if we don’t go out and put the ball in play — I don’t care how we play in the other aspects of our game — we’re not going to win.”
Not only do the Trojans plan to be aggressive at the plate, they also want to maximize on whatever base runners they can muster with aggressive running on the bags as well.
“We’re going to have to run the bases, move runners along,” said McBride. “We’re going to have to take some chances. We can’t sit back and slug with them.”
One thing Triton has going for it is plenty of playing experience against a difficult Northern State Conference field. Triton finished its NSC schedule 8-6 up against some tough teams, including Bremen and Jimtown, despite being the smallest school in the conference.
“I think our conference prepared us pretty well,” McBride said. “We were 8-6 in the conference, and we beat some really good teams, got beaten by some really good teams. I don’t think we’re going to go in fearful.”
Although Saturday represents Triton’s first regional appearance, the Trojans are hard-nosed, and McBride says they’re focused. If Whiting hits the field this weekend expecting to play a team of pushovers, the Lady Oilers are likely to be disappointed.
“Our approach can either be we go in and be in awe, or we can go in with grit and determination and be competitive” said McBride. “I don’t know how we’ll play at regional, this is new to me, too. Whiting’s an outstanding team, but it seems like everybody is really focused, and I’m hoping that will carry over into Saturday.”