Standing in the pitching circle, West Aurora’s Hannah Beatus is not a towering presence who threatens to block the sun or intimidate hitters with an overpowering fastball or menacing glare.
Hardly.
It’s unwise, though, to take her lightly. Her pixie-ish appearance aside, the junior right-hander is one fierce competitor who should again cast a big shadow this spring on the local softball scene.
“It’s a standing joke my dad and I have,” Beatus said. “I’m 5-foot-4, but 5-5 in cleats.”
She enters her third varsity season for coach Randy Hayslett as the top returning pitcher in the area. After splitting starting duties as a freshman, Beatus had a breakout sophomore season.
The Grand Valley State recruit threw an area-high 172 innings and earned all-area honors after going 18-6 with a 1.63 ERA and 199 strikeouts, helping lead the Blackhawks to conference and regional championships.
Velocity isn’t everything.
“You can look at some travel teams or even the top colleges, say a school like Auburn, and all their pitchers are like 6-2,” Beatus said. “But then you can see a pitcher like Delanie Gourley of Florida.”
Indeed, Gourley was the winning pitcher in the deciding game for the 2014 national champion Gators. Like Beatus, she is 5-4.
The point? There is no mold that guarantees pitching success.
If teams take her height for granted and move up in the batter’s box assuming she doesn’t have overpowering speed, Beatus said she will merely “use it as motivation.”
Not that she needs it, her coach said.
“Hannah loves the big games,” Hayslett said. “She’s also a student of the game. She studies as much as anyone we have.
“She’s small, but she’s sneaky quick. The big thing is, she hits her spots. And if an umpire is calling the corners, look out. The thing is, you’re going to have to hit her pitch.
“I have high expectations and more for her, coming off the great year she had.”
One thing Beatus won’t be preoccupied with is worrying about her future.
She drew recruiting interest from several schools last summer while playing with her Wasco Diamonds team and accepted an invitation from the coaching staff at NCAA Division II Grand Valley State to make an unofficial visit last September.
Beatus fell in love with the program and school located in Allendale, Mich., just outside Grand Rapids. She verbally committed in October to the scholarship offer extended by coach Dana Callihan.
“The campus is gorgeous,” Beatus said. “Pictures don’t do it justice.”
Callihan, who is in her second season, was the program’s top assistant the previous 13 years. The team has made five straight trips to the NCAA postseason.
Meanwhile, Beatus continues lessons with her personal pitching coach, Robin Voss.
“This winter we’ve really been working on getting a lot more arm extension and getting a lot of push and power from my legs off the mound,” Beatus said. ” It has helped improve the velocity on my pitches, especially my rise ball.
“I’m just as motivated to keep working. You have to prove yourself, and you can’t settle. You always have to push yourself and have high expectations.”
That sounds good to Hayslett.
“We’ve got her for two more years,” he said. “That’s nice for us.”
Twitter @RickArmstrong28
TOP 5 TEAMS
1. West Aurora: Junior pitcher Hannah Beatus (18-6), senior third baseman Cara Jimenez (.393) and senior outfielder Corey McCreedy (.354) lead six returning starters from conference and regional champs (28-9). Sophomore pitcher Libby Zoppa was 6-0 last year. Development of promising middle infielders, junior shortstop Grace Hunger and freshman second baseman Sophia Delgado could be key.
2. Geneva: Coach Greg Dierks returns seven starters and his top two pitchers — Rachel Fanella (13-3) and Wisconsin-Stevens Point commit Emily Plocinski (10-5) — from team that won 23 games. Vikings should boast a potent lineup headlined by two juniors, Indianapolis commit Annika Radabaugh (.434) and Grand Valley State commit Kaitlyn Plocinski (.410).
3. Somonauk: Coach Scott Siuda’s Bobcats return seven starters from Class 1A state runner-up that won 27 games. They include Elmhurst recruit Bailee Krantz, a pitcher/second baseman/third baseman who hit .505 and had a 12-2 record, and Lindenwood recruit Nicole Krupp, a pitcher/shortstop who hit .548 and was 8-2. Junior center fielder Maddie Kawall hit .556.
4. Kaneland: The Knights, who finished third in the state in 3A, lost battery mates Angie Morrow (Wisconsin) and catcher Paige Kuefler (Lindenwood) to graduation. They return seven starters headed by a Wisconsin-Whitewater commit, third baseman Meg Cohrs (.451, 10 home runs), and shortstop Morgan Weber (.301). New coach Mike Kuefler looks to pitchers Courtney Davis and Aly Jesionowski to step up.
5. Batavia: Seven players return for coach Lupe Castellanos from 19-win team that upset favored Waubonsie Valley in playoff opener. Junior shortstop/center fielder Toni Galas, who has committed to Evansville, and junior pitcher/shortstop Rachael Lovestrand lead that group after hitting .370 and .389, respectively. North Central commit Alyssa Klemm, a first baseman/pitcher, also hit .389.
TOP 20 PLAYERS
Hannah Beatus, West Aurora, junior, pitcher; Michele Calabrese, Waubonsie Valley, sophomore, shortstop; Meg Cohrs, Kaneland, senior, third base; Juvia Davis, Oswego East, sophomore, shortstop; Cara Jimenez, West Aurora, senior, third base; Grace Hunger, West Aurora, junior, shortstop; Maddie Kawall, Somonauk, junior, outfield; Bailee Krantz, Somonauk, senior, pitcher/second base/third base; Nicole Krupp, Somonauk, senior, pitcher/shortstop; Kara Leckinger, Metea Valley, senior, catcher/first base; Rachael Lovestrand, Batavia, junior, pitcher/shortstop; Paige Miller, Aurora Central Catholic, pitcher/third base/outfield; Corey McCreedy, West Aurora, senior, outfield; Emma Molenhouse, Rosary, senior, pitcher/shortstop/outfield; Kaitlyn Plocinski, Geneva, junior, catcher/shortstop; Annika Radabaugh, Geneva, junior, first base; Emily Schultz, Oswego East, sophomore, pitcher/first base; Morgan Weber, Kaneland, junior, shortstop; Danielle Williams, Oswego East, sophomore, outfield; Kelsea Zitt, Newark, senior, shortstop.
— Rick Armstrong
