EMILY PATTON Ex-Poland standout leads Bethany attack

She has become a base-running weapon for the Bethany softball team.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BETHANY, W. Va. -- One of the strategies used by the Bethany College softball team this season was to make Emily Patton the leadoff batter so she can do what she does best -- get on base, run and score.
That tactic proved to be rewarding as Patton, a freshman left fielder from Poland High, led the Bison in runs scored (35) to help them to their fifth straight Presidents' Athletic Conference championship, and their 10th in the last 13 years under coach Jan Forsty.
Bethany recently concluded the season with a 29-8 record, after losing its first two games in the NCAA Division III Central Regional Tournament at Muskingum College.
Entering the regional, the Bison were ranked as high as No. 9 in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll.
Last year, Bethany won the Central Region, advanced to the NCAA Division III World Series, and placed sixth in the nation.
Quickness to score
There is a good chance that if I can get on base I will score," said Patton, who batted .375 (45-for-120) and also led the team in stolen bases (5) and triples (5). "I do have speed so [we] try to get me on base to capitalize on it."
Forsty had high praise for Patton, the daughter of Theresa and Dave Patton who played softball at Poland High for coach Reid Lamport.
"You can't ask anything else from a freshman what Emily has given us," said Forsty. "Her speed and ability to slap and hit away in the leadoff spot gives us so many options at the top of the lineup. As good as the middle of our order has been, they wouldn't have posted nearly as good of numbers without Emily making things happen at the top."
Forsty, who completed her 16th season, was named PAC coach of the year for the ninth time. She has a 356-186-3 record at Bethany and is 436-241-3 overall in 21 years.
She bunts often
Patton said her key assets are "probably just my bunting and running. I have had a lot of bunts that I have reached base on as base hits."
And she makes her own decisions to bunt.
"My coach doesn't give me a bunt sign. I just do it on my own. I kind of read how the infield is playing," said Patton. "I probably try to bunt at least two at-bats a game."
And she usually succeeds. "I usually beat out my bunts, which means that I am laying them down when the fielder is out of position," she said.
Once on base, Patton usually can advance with a steal, hit-and-run or on another bunt because "someone in the middle of the lineup will hit me in," she pointed out.
"We really don't have a weak player on the team. One through nine we are really strong and we get along and trust each other's ability."
kovach@vindy.com