By Harrison Tarr

For the Observer

BEULAH —

Diamond sports are an entity unlike any other. Sometimes, teams can’t seem to buy a run or catch a routine fly ball for the life of them. Other times, groups find themselves on a hot streak of games where they can do no wrong; sometimes, a team knows just how good they are from the first time they step on the field together and begin to morph into a nearly untouchable squad.

Beulah High School’s softball program may just be experiencing one of those phenomena. The Bobcats are 29-4, unbeaten in their area and showing no signs of slowing down.

According to their skipper, the Bobcat’s dominance throughout 2022 has can be accredited — in large — to the lethal pitching duo of senior Katie Morris and junior Brandy Phillips.

“We’ve got two really good pitchers who get in that circle for us,” Pepper said. “They do an outstanding job for us.”

Although certainly a force to be reckoned with, the Beulah pitching staff has been backed up by what Pepper describes as a solid defensive effort.

“We’re playing pretty good defense most of the time,” Pepper said. “And we’re generating just enough runs to survive.”

While the longtime head coach of the Bobcats sang praise for his defense in its entirety, he could not help by mention the remarkable impact of junior center fielder Savannah Clements

“To be honest with you, they’re all playing well,” Pepper said. “We’re getting really good play from everybody on our team; but Savannah Clements has made some ESPN-type plays in center field.”

Pepper said that the standout junior actually had one catch earlier in the season that the coaching staff actually considered sending in to the ESPN top-10.

“She’s just been unbelievable, hawking balls down left and right,” Pepper said. “I don’t know if there’s a better center fielder in the state than her. She had one catch that we actually thought about trying to send to ESPN, it was that miraculous of a catch.”

Despite highlighting both his pitchers and star center fielder, Pepper made a point to commend junior catcher Abrianna Green for her standout work behind the dish and ability to be a leader on the black and gold defense.

“Abrianna Green has been doing an outstanding job,” Pepper said. “If (our opponents) get on base, they don’t seem to make it to second with her behind the plate. She’s got a really strong arm; she’s doing a really great job of protecting the plate and being the leader.”

While praising his defensive standouts, the skipper was sure to commend his group of athletes for staying bought into the culture which has been created before them.

“They’ve been playing most of their life,” Pepper said. “We just preach one play at a time, one out at a time, one inning at a time and they’ve bought into that the last couple of years. They don’t get too emotionally low or high, they just play the game.”

With just five regular season contests remaining and the ASHAA playoffs growing nearer, the Bobcats look to stay the course when they travel to New Site to take on the Generals of Horseshoe Bend on Thursday night. First pitch of the contest is set for 4:30 p.m. CST.