EDINBURGH — Clinging to a 1-0 lead early in a game at Edinburgh, Hauser softball coach Craig Sims decided not to leave anything to chance when Sidney Beier came to the plate.
He’s seen too many teams, including his own, get burned by the Lancers star; even with two out and the bases empty, Sims issued an intentional walk.
“She’s a kid that can change a game,” Sims said. “When you get runners in scoring position, she’s got the power to hit the ball out.”
That was proven time and time again last season, when Beier led all Class A hitters in the state with 12 home runs. She hit .521 with 45 runs batted in, helping Edinburgh win 21 games and claim its second-ever regional title.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
Though she’s known as a long-ball threat, Beier insists that she’s not necessarily going up to bat with the intent of taking pitchers deep.
“I don’t ever say, ‘Oh, I’m going to hit a home run.’ It’s more seeing a pitch, and if I hit it right then it goes out. … I just try and make contact, and then sometimes I make really good contact and it goes out.”
Beier hasn’t had to go yard to make an impact. Of the 75 hits she collected during her freshman and sophomore years, 42 of them went for extra bases (15 home runs, three triples, 24 doubles). She’s also stolen 22 bases, including seven already this season.
That speed allows Beier to affect the game even when teams pitch around her. After taking that free pass last week against the Jets, she stole second and scored on the ensuing throwing error to tie the game.
Edinburgh coach Stephen Clark said he’d like to see the rest of his lineup produce enough that opponents feel forced to pitch to Beier. The Lancers should be able to do that, with three other returning starters who batted over .350 a year ago.
“As a team, we need to be more solid around her so they can’t just give her the base,” Clark said. “We need to be disciplined around her and make them pay.”
Beier rotates between catcher and third base, splitting time with Emma Wade at both spots — and Beier has proven herself to be effective at the hot corner, turning a popped-up bunt into a double play earlier this season against Hauser.
She plans to be a catcher at the college level, but Beier is willing to do whatever it takes to help the Lancers continue their winning ways.
The road to a third straight sectional title and second consecutive semistate appearance will be considerably tougher this year — Edinburgh’s sectional now includes the Indianapolis Lutheran team that eliminated the Lancers in extra innings in the 2017 semistate semifinal — but Beier isn’t concerned with any of that just yet. The focus right now is on making daily improvements as a team in preparation for those big games later.
“We’re just really focusing on game by game and not really looking forward to, ‘Oh, we’re going to win sectional,'” she said. “No, we’re taking it game by game, seeing what we can do, see what we have.”
In that No. 3 spot in the lineup, at least, just about everyone knows what the Lancers have.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Sidney Beier has been tearing the cover off the ball throughout her high school career. A look at her career statistics (through Monday):
Year;Avg.;Runs;HR;RBI;OPS*
2016;.529;24;3;26;1.464
2017;.521;37;12;45;1.798
2018;.333;2;0;5;.802
* On-base plus slugging percentage
[sc:pullout-text-end]
