Taylor Tobin was perfect in every sense of the word on Friday against Shelton, as the junior pitcher threw a perfect game to lead W.F. West to an 8-0 win.
“I was just trusting my coaches and trusting my team,” Tobin said. “The way my coaches were calling everything, my teammates going out and backing me up, making sure that I hit my spots.”
It’s the first perfect game that W.F. West coach Kevin Zylstra, who’s been with the school for more than 40 years, has seen between baseball, fastpitch softball, and slowpitch softball.
“(Tobin) was just locked in like I’ve never seen it before,” Zylstra said. “It was like we were sharing the same radio waves. She knew what I was gonna throw down before I did it. We were both just locked in. It was just an amazing experience. She was absolutely brilliant.”
Tobin struck out two Highclimbers in the first, one in the second, and three in the third, an early sign that her stuff was on. She went on to finish the night with 14 strikeouts.
“The spin on my ball, that was what got it there,” Tobin said.
On the seven outs put in play, the Bearcats, like Tobin, were perfect.
“There’s so many things that can go wrong,” Zylstra said. “All those things went perfectly, and it was fun to watch.”
Offensively, they did more than enough to support Tobin.
Rayah Middleton hit a three-run home run to cap a five-run sixth, Gracie Elam hit an RBI triple, and Tinsley Tobin added an RBI single.
“It’s a total team effort,” Zylstra said.
The Bearcats now sit at 6-1 overall before they face Aberdeen on Monday to wrap up their March slate.
“It’s very cohesive,” Taylor Tobin said. “We’re very close with each other, we’re all really good friends. Having us all be close and trust each other has been the best part of it.”
