'A dominant pitcher': Cal Poly Humboldt commit, Tulare Union's Hatton excels in softball
Mason Hatton inherited her love for sports from her parents.
Diana, her mom, and Mark, her dad, both played in college. Diana excelled at volleyball while Mark made his mark on the basketball court.
Sports continue to play a big role for the Hatton family — Diana is the athletic director at Tulare Union while Mark is the Tribe boys basketball coach.
And now, Hatton has blazed her trail, emerging this spring as one of the top softball pitchers in the Central Section.
In stats reported to MaxPreps.com, Hatton is ranked sixth in the section with 142 strikeouts. The senior right-hander is averaging 1.63 strikeouts per inning.
With Hatton in the circle, Tulare Union (12-4-2, 2-0) enters this week having won three in a row, including four of its past five games.
“I would consider her a dominant pitcher,” Tribe head coach Carl Bivens said. “100%.”
More: The polls are open! Vote for the Tulare County Athlete of the Week, April 15-19
A strikeout pitcher
Hatton has an arsenal of pitches that she can utilize — a fastball, riseball, curveball, changeup and screwball.
What makes her highly effective, though, is her ability to hit different locations of the strike zone, Bivens added. That’s a big reason why Hatton has consistently struck out batters this year.
Hatton has fired double-digit strikeouts in seven games this season. She has hurled 19 strikeouts twice in wins over Reedley and Sierra Pacific. Those 19 strikeouts in a single game are the most for a Tulare high school pitcher since former Mission Oak and Oregon State star Mariah Mazon tossed 22 strikeouts in nine innings in 2017.
Hatton anchors a Tribe squad that features six sophomores, five seniors and two juniors.
What’s it like to have a pitcher like Hatton?
“It makes things a lot easier for us,” Bivens said. “We’re a young team. We’re still learning. On defense, we’re still trying to figure things out from time to time because we’re so young. It helps having a strikeout pitcher because it reduces having the ball in play, and takes the pressure off the younger kids.”
That's a role Hatton relishes.
"My goal every time is obviously a strikeout because that just makes it easier for my team in the field," Hatton said. "But if I don't, I know they're going to try their best to get an out in the field, but obviously, my goal for myself is to get a strikeout every time."
Hatton has been surrounded by sports all her life.
Her father is the section’s active winningest boys basketball coach with more than 500 career victories. Her mother has been the Tulare Union athletic director since 2006.
Hatton grew up going to games.
That’s helped Hatton grow as a student-athlete.
“It’s made me have high expectations for myself because I know my parents have high expectations for me,” Hatton said. “Everybody has high expectations for me to be good at sports because obviously, my parents were good athletes. We’re a sports family. I always wanted to be my best so I could shine a positive light on how my parents raised me and how I was raised through athletics and a love for sports.”
More: Check out Tulare County's top high school spring sports performers for Week 10
A union
Hatton turned in one of her best performances of the season in a recent 2-1 win over Lemoore on April 9.
She threw a one-hitter in a 10-strikeout outing and also had a key hit to spark the Tribe to the West Yosemite League victory.
Hatton has been an impact player since her freshman campaign in 2021. That year, she helped Tulare Union win a Central Section Division III championship.
A four-year varsity player, Hatton has developed into one of the team’s leaders and premier players.
She has 349 career strikeouts with a 23-9 record and also had a starring role in the Tribe's WYL championship run last year.
This season, Hatton has established career-best in wins (10) and strikeouts (142).
How does it feel to fire a strikeout?
"It's a good feeling that I know I did a good job for my team, and it makes it easier on them," Hatton said. "That's my goal is to try to strike people out, obviously, so they don't have that extra pressure and can go hit on the offensive side."
All four of Tulare Union's losses this season have come by two runs or fewer. The Tribe have lost to three teams who have a combined 45-11 record in Liberty Bakersfield (16-4), Wasco (15-4) and Frontier (14-3).
What makes this year's team unique?
"Everybody's work ethic and their goal to win every game," Hatton said. "I feel, like, we, obviously, we're going to make errors, but everyone tries so hard. I just love that. Every girl tries so hard to be the best that they can be. And so, if we get an error, it's hard to get mad at them because they try so hard and I just love that so much. And when we go up to bat, if there's a strikeout, they're so encouraging.
"It's fun to be around my team because it's just a good time. With a team of girls, there can be drama, but there is no drama on the team. It's just fun softball here."
Hatton has verbally committed to play college softball next season at Cal Poly Humboldt — an NCAA Division II program that competes in the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
How important has sports been for Hatton?
"I've made so many friends through sports, so many connections," Hatton said. "Sports have taught me so many things about work ethic, time management, and just like how to keep a schedule, going from after school to practice to my pitching lessons after practice, everything and still getting my homework done. It's just taught me so much time management that I'll be able to use in my future. It's taught me how to keep relationships with people. Respect for your coaches. Just having respect for your teammates. It's just taught me so many life skills that I wouldn't have learned if I wasn't involved so much in sports."
Tulare County Cream of the Crop Power Rankings
Here is one view of the top five baseball/softball teams in Tulare County (records are as of April 16):
Baseball
1. Redwood (15-5): The Rangers are off to a 7-0 start in East Yosemite League play.
2. Tulare Western (12-9): The Mustangs are atop the WYL standings with a perfect 8-0 record.
3. Central Valley Christian (14-6): Zach Simmon, a junior pitcher, leads the Cavaliers with 62 strikeouts.
4. Porterville (11-5): The Panthers are on a seven-game win streak and were the 2024 Tulare/Visalia PRO-PT lower-division champions.
5. Exeter (14-4): Senior pitcher Aidan Robertson is among Tulare County leaders with 66 strikeouts.
Softball
1. Tulare Union (12-4-2): The Tribe are the reigning WYL champions.
2. Redwood (10-8-2): The Rangers are coming off a 2-1 win over Monache. Jaden Lopez drove in two runs in that EYL victory.
3. El Diamante (11-7): Senior pitcher Jorja Moreno tossed a complete game in a 2-1 victory against Monache.
4. Mission Oak (13-5): The Hawks are winners of three straight games.
5. Golden West (16-4): The Trailblazers have hit 10 home runs this season as a team, led by Karly Aguilar's four dingers.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Tulare Union's Mason Hatton excels in softball
