As rain continues to pour, outdoor spring sports teams in Northern California have struggled to play.
Despite the weather, the Pioneer High School varsity softball team has proved through eight games that it is a force to be reckoned with in the Golden Empire League. The Patriots are 6-2 overall, in large part due to their sensational sophomore pitcher, Jia Beebe.
"She doesn't have speed like maybe the Dixon pitcher, but she has good spins," explained Pioneer coach Linda Merrida. "She mixes up her pitches and keeps the batters off balance. She's not overpowering but she hits her spots."
Beebe has pitched in all eight of the Patriots' games, with six starts, so far this season. She has a 4-2 record in the circle with one save and a 1.59 earned run average.
"I see her getting better and better each year," Merrida foreshadowed. "She has a pitching coach that will work with her. She does her own regimented workouts. She's pretty busy. She's on a travel team that will be playing during the summer so she'll have a chance to improve her skills."
In Beebe's most recent start on Friday afternoon, she led Pioneer to an 11-1 win against crosstown rival Woodland High School.
"I thought she maintained control, she hit her spots and she doesn't get ruffled at all," Merrida recalled. "She has the same outlook on every player, even if they hit a home run. You can count on her, I call her the Ice Princess."
She tossed a six-inning complete game, allowing four hits and one run with seven strikeouts and zero walks.
"My team picked me up and I think we had fun out there," Beebe said Friday. "Me personally, I just stay focused on trying to hit my spots. I think I did pretty well today and everyone else did too."
When Beebe isn't in the circle pitching, she plays the outfield.
"She's versatile," Merrida proclaimed. "Last year, she was the most experienced pitcher so she saw a lot of mound time. But when she's not on the mound, she could be playing in the outfield. This year her role is a little different because we have outfielders. If anything, she'd be a designated hitter because her bat is very important in our lineup, she's hitting number two.
"Bat control, moving runners around, if we need her to sacrifice bunt, she can do that. She can even spray a single anywhere on the field. When she's on, she makes contact."
Merrida's favorite thing about Beebe away from the field is that she is also a dedicated student.
"She's an excellent student-athlete," Merrida explained. "You never have to worry about her grades. She's a hard-working student. She's taking AP classes and she's not a 4.0 student, she's a 4.0+ student.
The Patriots won their most recent game, a dominant 24-0 victory at Mira Loma, on Monday afternoon in GEL play. Pioneer was scheduled to play at St. Francis of Sacramento on Tuesday afternoon, but the weather postponed that game.
The next chance for the Patriots to take the field, barring rain, is Friday at 4:30 p.m. in a non-league game against Del Oro of Loomis.
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