Ardmore’s Hall dominates in the circle

Published 10:10 am Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Sometimes, Madison Lewis doesn’t really think it’s fair. The Ardmore catcher knows some batters just don’t have a chance against pitcher Sydney Hall.

It was a sentiment shared by the home plate umpire during Ardmore’s game against Sardis in the Class 5A North Regional championship game — a game where Hall pitched a no-hitter and struck out 14 batters.

“There were two outs, and the umpire was like ‘Let me see the ball.’” Lewis said. “After I handed it to him, he was like ‘Oh, that’s only two outs. Here, hand it back to me when she strikes this one out.’ So he already knew she was going to strike her out. And she did.”

Hall has been Ardmore’s main woman in the circle the past two years, and she has pitched nearly every inning of the season. As good as she’s been, why would coach Stephen Baugh pitch anyone else?

“I can’t say enough good things about her,” Baugh said. “She’s the real deal, she’s legit. There’s a reason that when she’s on the field, we play so well.”

Hall doesn’t mind being the only pitcher Ardmore uses every game. It’s a role she relishes.

“I love pitching so much,” Hall said. “If I didn’t love it, I wouldn’t be doing it. I started pitching lessons when I was 9, so I’ve been doing it for a long time. I love being the one in the middle with the game in my hand.”

Hall had a great sophomore season, but she knew she could still improve. So, she and her private pitching coach watched video of her delivery and decided it needed an overhaul.

Hall began working on a new delivery, which features a deep knee bend, nearly a squat. She then rises up out of the knee bend, uncoils her body and hurls the ball to the plate. She credits the new delivery for increasing her pitching velocity.

“We watched the video a lot, and he told me I could use my legs more,” Hall said. “I feel like this new delivery has helped me a lot this season, bringing more speed and power to my pitches. It felt kind of strange at first because it was so different from my old delivery, but I’ve gotten used to it, so now it’s comfortable and normal.”

The drawback to a pitching delivery with a deep knee bend is it could get tiring after throwing so many pitches. However, Hall works out with both the team and on her own to make sure her strength and stamina is up to standard.

“It hasn’t yet gotten tiring,” Hall said. “I work out as much as I can to keep in good shape and stay strong in the circle.”

In addition to pitching for Ardmore, Hall plays travel softball for the Alabama Sparks, out of Huntsville. That season begins in early June and lasts through early August.

But before the travel season starts, Hall has one more bit of high school business to take care of — winning a state championship.

Ardmore will take on Shelby County at 10:45 a.m. Thursday at Montgomery’s Lagoon Park in the first game of the Class 5A state tournament. It is the third consecutive year the Tigers are playing in the state tournament, and Hall wants to avenge last year’s disappointment, in which Ardmore was eliminated in three games.

“I look at the losses and always look back at what I can do better,” Hall said. “I feel like going back (to state) again this year will help me relive it. The experience we’ve had the last two years will definitely help us this year.”

Hall said her goal is to pitch in college, and although she hasn’t received any scholarship offers yet, Baugh said it is only a matter of time before they come rolling in.

“There’s no doubt she’s going to pitch in college somewhere,” Baugh said. “It just will take the right coach being at the right game to see her play. I have a feeling by the fall of this year, her problem will be having all these different offers and having to choose which one to go to.”