Wygast packs a wallop for Whitmer softball

May 1—From the time she and her neighborhood friends first played softball in the front yard when she was 8 years old, Sophia Wygast seemed to be a natural with a bat in her hands.

The following year, Wygast joined a slow-pitch team at Shoreland Elementary School, a year later she was playing fastpitch travel softball, and by age 11 was taking hitting instructions from her current Whitmer coach, Duane Lanham.

Now a sophomore shortstop for Lanham's Panthers, Wygast has emerged in her first season of varsity competition as one of northwest Ohio's best hitters — both for average and power.

Through 18 games, Wygast was 34-for-57 (.596 average) at the plate with 11 home runs, eight doubles, 30 runs scored, and 37 runs batted in, helping Whitmer to a 15-5 overall record and a first-place 7-0 mark in the Three Rivers Athletic Conference.

"I've worked with a lot of hitters," said Lanham, who previously coached at Southview in the Northern Lakes League and at Owens College, guiding the Express to the national junior college finals.

"From the time she was 10 years old, Sophia showed that she was serious about wanting to be one of the best hitters in this area. She put in a lot of time every opportunity she got to just swing the bat. She's probably broken about 15 bats over the last several years that I've been around her. She just wears them out. She loves to hit."

Indeed she does.

"I've worked with coach Lanham since I was 11, and I've had tons of hitting instruction and practice at hitting," Wygast said. "I practice almost every day during the summer, and all season."

Was she expecting this level of success at the high school level?

"Honestly, no," Wygast said, "but this was what I was aiming for. I wanted to try to make it to the top, and I knew that my hitting could bring me a long way."

Usually when Wygast arrives at the plate for her next at bat, she is poised from past preparation, and motivated by her teammates.

"When I get up to bat and hear everybody [on bench] start to cheer, I just get a smile on my face and I enjoy the game more," she said. "I would say my confidence at the plate is as high as it's ever been. I just get to the plate and know that I'm going to hit the ball."

No stat illustrates that point better than the fact that Wygast has struck out just once in 58 total plate appearances.

"She has a pretty good bead on what type of pitch she wants to drive," Lanham said. "She doesn't go chasing a lot of pitches. She'll get underneath it every now and then and lift it, but for the most part the swing is one that's going to take it over the fence if she makes solid contact."

Wygast is one of several hot Panthers hitters, joining sophomore third baseman Aliveah Warner (.483 average, 7 HR, 30 RBIs), senior second baseman Sydney Shank (.471, 28 runs), senior catcher Abby Rodriguez (.472, 1 HR, 19 RBIs), freshman right fielder Hannah Johnson (.435, 24 runs), senior pitcher Tegan Wietrzykowski (.357, 15 RBIs), and freshman left fielder Kenzie Richardson (.333, 13 runs, 14 RBIs) above the .300 mark.

Wietrzykowski is 14-4 pitching with a 2.59 earned-run average and 84 strikeouts in 86 1/3 innings.

Collectively, they have Whitmer in contention to win or share its third straight TRAC championship. The Panthers tied Notre Dame for the 2018 title and shared the 2019 crown with Clay. The coronavirus pandemic wiped out the 2020 season.

As for Wygast, she is proving to be a batter of great concern to opposing pitchers, no matter their own level of ability. She has been able to homer off of some of the best pitchers Whitmer has faced, including Springfield ace Mady Yackee.

So where does Wygast rate among past hitters Lanham has coached?

"As far as being a pure hitter, I'd have to put her up at the top," Lanham said. "She's very versed on what pitches she can drive and what pitches she can hit for home runs. She has really worked at this game for a long time on the offensive side.

"I've had some good hitters at Owens and when I was at Southview. But, out of all of them, even here, she's probably the top."

Wygast, who likely would have played varsity ball as a freshman, continued to hone her game during the summer travel softball schedule playing for the Wizard Elite.

"Before the season started I was at a speed school, and we did a lot of strength and agility stuff," Wygast said. "It helped out on making me faster around the bases, as well. It helped with my strength to be able to hit home runs."

Wygast aspires to continue her softball career beyond high school, but realizes that other areas of her game will require improvement.

"I email [college] coaches weekly, and I hope to play Division I softball," she said.

"I always think, that my hitting kind of comes natural, so my fielding is what needs to be worked on."

As for hitting, Wygast's biggest challenge the rest of her prep career may be the potential frustration of being intentionally walked. But her coach believes she will take that in stride and continue to rake, when given the chance.

"She has worked at the game long enough to know that you adjust your trigger and your timing device," Lanham said. "When the ball gets to that sweet spot, you're ready to attack it.

"Whether they throw 65 miles an hour or 46, I don't think it really affects her. She's only had one strikeout all year. That's pretty impressive."

First Published April 30, 2021, 9:46am