Thursday, April 18, 2024
THE WIND-UP: Reese Tryone fires one of the 50 strikes she threw against Santo.
THE HEAT: Reese Tryon's fastball is hard to beat.
ICY STARE: Tolar's Reese Tryon is armed with more than a set of pitches.
TOLAR -- A week after pitching a no-hitter, Tolar’s Reese Tryon overcame a scary first-base collision and one-upped herself by throwing a perfect game in an 11-0 shutout of Santo in District 11-2A softball on Good Friday.
Tryon was diving back into first base after drawing a walk when she collided against the bag and the first baseman and was writhing around in pain afterward. It was a frightening moment, and at first, it appeared Tryon might have suffered a hit to the head but instead had “twisted” her neck.
After getting back to the dugout and getting a complete evaluation by Coach Christy Collie, the decision was made to send her back into the game because magic was in the making.
“If she hadn’t been in this situation (perfect game), I would have pulled her from the game,” Collie said. “This was a goal she was reaching for, so the last time out, it was a no-hitter, but this was a perfect game. We were trying to add this to her collection.”
When a pitcher is in the middle of a special outing, no one in the dugout talks to them about it – it’s considered to be a significant jinx that will lead to a batter getting a hit,
The Lady Rattlers may not have talked to Tryon, but Collie and her charges were meeting on the side about making sure Tolar’s defense was shored up.
“You want to say something about it, but you don’t,” Collie said. “I just pulled by the defense to the side while Reese was warming up, and I was like – all right, this is a perfect-game situation going – you fight hard for her.”
Like most pitchers, when they are “in the zone,” Tryon was unaware she was approaching a special mark as she focused on throwing strikes.
“I knew that I was on a good run and that my defense was backing me up,” Tryon said. “Never in my wildest imagination did I think I could follow up a no-hitter with a perfect game. I didn’t know I had a perfect game going. I just wanted to keep playing and helping my team.”
Tryon needed just 67 pitches to complete her perfect game, and 50 of those went for strikes.
With the win, Tolar clinched the District 11-2A championship for the second time year in a row and is currently 7-0 in league play and 15-3 overall.
Russell@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066 ext. 231
