TLR COVER
STORY
Keystone continues to burn up the parks with its top-flight hurlers
Jack McDermott
Plain Dealer Reporter
It’s no mystery that the
key to Keystone’s rise as
The Wildcats, who have
made 10 trips to the final four since 1992, have produced strong supporting
characters in the infield and outfield, but for the most part it is the girl
with the ball in her hand, standing 40 feet in front of the plate, who has been
in the spotlight.
Year after year, the
public school in Lorain County produces one of Northeast Ohio’s top pitchers,
several of who have gone on to pitch for Division I colleges. They have helped
the Wildcats compile a 603-115 record since the program sprouted in 1978.
Keystone is 7-0 this year.
This spring’s star
attraction is three-year letter-winner Kristie Malinkey, a senior right-hander who is off to a 5-0 start
and is hoping to become the Wildcats’ first three-time Division II first-team
All-Ohio selection.
Keystone has a quality
No. 2 pitcher in senior Jessica Burt, who has received a full scholarship from
Malinkey was surprised to have made the
varsity squad as a freshman. She played behind mentor Brittney Robinson, a
current
“The most important thing
I learned from being around her was humility,” Malinkey
said. “I was in awe of her. She was what I wanted to become. I had no idea in
the world, being just a ninth-grader, that I was ever
going to be playing varsity ball. I wanted to play, but if I never threw a
pitch, that was fine with me. I was thrilled just being a part of the program.”
Malinkey, who will play for
“I’ve already walked four
batters,” she said last week, smiling. “That’s four walks in my first three
starts, so I guess I better come up with a more realistic figure.”
Last spring, after
issuing 22 walks while striking out 308 batters in 171 innings, Malinkey admitted she’d rather give up a home run than
issue a walk.
“If they hit a home run
off me, they’ve accomplished something,” Malinkey
said last year after ending the season with a 23-4 record and a 0.53 ERA. “If I
walk them, it’s a free pass and I’ve given them a gift. I’d much rather they
earned it rather than having me hand it to them.”
When the legacy began
Much of the pride
associated with being attached to the program traces to former coach Dave Leffew, who guided Keystone to a 428-79 record between 1980-99, including the school’s only Division II state
championship in 1999.
Leffew, who currently serves as
“I could see right from
the start that pitching was 80 percent of the game,” Leffew
recalled. “I looked at all the successful teams back then, and I knew that if
we were ever going to succeed, we needed to develop some really good pitchers
and fast.”
The turning point came
during the summer of 1983 when Leffew enrolled in a
two-week course at the
“I don’t recall the
teacher’s name, but she was an assistant softball coach at Cal State Fullerton
and she was originally from the
“That was the most
worthwhile softball experience of my life. She taught me that the biggest part
of instructing girls how to throw fast-pitch was to get them involved at a
young age and to work extra hard with them so they didn’t injure themselves.”
Shortly after finishing
the class, Leffew started local pitching clinics,
which eventually expanded to workshops all over the state. He has since gone
the private-lesson route.
“During the first three
days of this season, I had 18 girls that I’ve been giving private pitching
lessons to who pitched for their schools, and three pitched no-hitters,” he
said.
Current Keystone coach
Jim Piazza, who is 94-10 early into his fourth season, is a product of Leffew’s coaching system. Piazza served as a Keystone
assistant under Leffew for several seasons. While
Piazza is not a pitching specialist like Leffew, he
has helped extend the school’s reputation as a pitching powerhouse through his
assistant coaching hires.
Keystone’s current
pitching coach is
Shining examples
Evans, who went on to
compete for
Leffew learned that a big key to success
is getting older pitchers to work with the young girls. Evans and Amie Leffew had glowing remarks
about the pitchers they followed.
“Sarah Martin and Amy
Johnson were great role models for me,” Evans said. “Sarah and Amy shared
pitching duties the three years before I came on the scene, and they took a lot
of the pressure off us younger players. Watching them helped get me ready for
my turn.”
Amie Leffew
played as a backup for two seasons behind Evans.
“I don’t think my dad
built the team around the two of us during our careers as much as he might have
in previous seasons,” she said.
“We had some really great
position players backing us up, and it made our job a whole lot easier.
Naturally, when you’re playing behind a great player, you wonder when or if
you’re ever going to get your chance. But, the two years I played behind Kim I
wouldn’t have traded for anything in the world. Watching her made me that much
stronger when my time came.”
More to come
While Malinkey
has been a mainstay the last few years, there shouldn’t be a dropoff next season.
Sophomore Kate Yeo and freshman Kara Dill, who take lessons from Leffew, made the varsity squad this spring. They are
contributing as starting infielders and are expected to assume pitching duties
next year.
“They are both very
strong candidates,” Piazza said.
To reach this Plain
Dealer reporter: jmcdermott@plaind.com, 800-767-2821
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