It's not her height — almost 6-foot-1 — nor the intense stare from the rubber that you notice first about Maple Grove pitcher Sydney Smith, although those are not things easily missed. It's not the powerful leg drive nor the pinpoint precision on her pitches, nor the resounding pop of that pitch smacking the catcher's glove.
It's the confidence that grabs you. Smith — the 2015 Star Tribune Metro Softball Player of the Year — is exactly where she belongs, the ringleader of a circus conducted on a diamond of 60-foot baselines. Every move — by herself, teammates, opponents — is orchestrated by Smith, the result of a passion for pitching.
A base hit off Smith is something to file away in the permanent memory banks. A run? Savor the flavor because it's a rarity indeed. A victory? Let's not get carried away. Smith hasn't lost a regular-season game in three years, a 53-0 record before the playoffs.
This is her world. She knows it. The opponents know it.
"I try not get nervous," she said. "Some girls get so worked up sometimes. I want them to be able to look at me and stay calm. I know what to do."
With Smith in the circle, Maple Grove has enjoyed the No. 1 ranking in Class 3A all season. She's 18-0 with three no-hitters, one perfect game and an ERA of just 0.14. Opponents have scored a run on her in just six games. Her strikeout-to-walk ratio is a remarkable 10.38, with 218 strikeouts against 21 walks.
Heading into this week's state tournament, Maple Grove's record this season is 22-2. Both losses came in a tournament at Eastview in which Smith didn't pitch, resting a weary arm.
"She has confidence through the roof," Crimson coach Jim Koltes said. "She is comfortable who she is."
While her results may be uncommon, her path has been anything but. It's the result of hard work and a laser-like focus on her craft.
She didn't start pitching until she was 12, and did so on a whim. It may not have happened that soon had her father and mentor, Mike, been home at the time.
"When she first said she wanted to try pitching, we went into the yard and I caught for her," Mike said. "She was throwing hard, but she was wild. She was playing for a team that needed pitchers, but I told her she was not to pitch. She was so wild, it wasn't fair. Not to her team and not to the other team."
Mike was away on a business trip, however, when the team needed a pitcher.
"I said, 'I'll do it,' " Sydney said. "I'll try."
From a results standpoint, it was a disaster.
"I don't think I threw one strike," she recalled. "I threw pitches over the backstop and hit houses."
The coach came out, thinking she was going to soothe a rattled player. What she found was annoyance.
"I was like, 'Just let me finish' '' Smith said. "We weren't winning anyway. I wanted to finish."
Smith was hooked.
"Even though I was bad, I thought is was kind of fun," she said.When Mike returned, he was prepared for the worst. What he heard shocked him.
"A coach came up and told me she was going to be a heckuva pitcher someday," he said. "He said it was her attitude. She wanted the ball even if she wasn't doing well. That stood out to him."
Years of practice followed — "Me and my dad worked every night," she said — criss-crossing the country to attend camps, competing with national traveling teams. She played for the renowned Wichita Mustangs last summer and will again this this year.
Smith is now a perfectionist. She knows exactly what needs to be done and how to do it.
"I've limited my pitches," she said. "I used to throw five or six, but now I know I don't need that. So now it's just a fastball, change, riseball and curve. I can get just about anybody out with my rise."
She's also learned how to preserve her talent. Strikeouts are sexy, but efficiency is prudent. "You want to get three outs the quickest way possible. You save the strikeouts for when you really need them," she said.
Smith has signed with Louisiana State, a top-10 program that qualified for the College World Series this year. Before she heads south, however, there is a some business at home that needs to be taken care of.
Maple Grove will be playing in its fourth consecutive state tournament this week. The Crimson have been runner-up twice, including an unexpected loss to Lakeville South in the 2014 finals.
"We talk about that just about every day," Smith said. "We've been trying to [win a state championship] for four years now and we've come up short every time. Knowing this is my last chance makes me want it 10 times more."
