“As a pitcher, we learn how to set up batters at a young age,” begins Taylor McQuillin, the talented pitcher and No. 5 rated prospect in the 2015 class. “We are taught how to look at their positional stance in the batter’s box, how they have developed their swing and even how they approach the plate.”

The Southern California standout has committed to the Univ. of Arizona and plays for one of the premier club teams in the nation, the OC Batbusters-Haning.  She is also a standout student with a 4.2 GPA at Mission Viejo (Calif.) High School where she earned 1^st team All-Orange County honors in 2013.

Perhaps Taylor’s greatest accomplishment is she has done all this despite having to overcome birth defects making her completely blind in the left eye and with only partial hearing on the left side.

Here is her latest blog for Student Sports Softball Taylor covers the art of calling pitches and how important confidence is in the equation.

Be sure to check out Taylor’s previous blogs and those of our other standout bloggers!

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As a pitcher, we learn how to set up batters at a young age. We are taught how to look at their positional stance in the batter’s box, how they have developed their swing and even how they approach the plate.

Every batter is different as well and every pitcher has her own philosophy and way of approaching each individual batter.

Coaches usually help with calling the pitches or catchers tend to also do it themselves at times as well. The pitcher and catcher should always be on the same page as to what pitch should be thrown in certain cases.

Calling pitches could also be based on runners that are on base or in scoring position and where you want the batter to hit the ball to help your team get out lead runners. Pitches called could be based off of strategic plays as well. In my opinion, there is no right or wrong pitch to throw in a certain situation if it is a pitch you are comfortable with.

A pitcher has to be comfortable on the mound and have faith and remain confident. That is a big thing that all pitchers need to remember. If you are confident with what you are throwing and you show that confidence on the field, you will be successful.

It shouldn’t matter what pitch is called in any situation. If you see the sign you should be able to say, “I want to throw this pitch. I want to get this batter out,” because the first time you doubt yourself on the field is the time where the pitch will not usually go the way you want it to.

I am fortunate to have played with girls who know the game of softball very well and invest their time into working to get better each and every day. The catchers that I have pitched to are very smart in the sense that they have charted batters and looked at their strengths and weaknesses to help know how to throw to them.

Having confidence in your catcher is something that every pitcher should feel. The catchers I have now, whether it they are in high school or in travel ball, are amazing and I trust their pitch calling and their opinions as well as I do trust the opinions of my coaches.

The coaches have taught the players well and we have all learned from them and have listened to what their philosophies are too. I think it is good to learn how coaches call pitches as well as catchers call pitches too because you get to see their thought process as well.

When I pitch, or when I watch other pitchers pitch, I look for sequences and patterns in pitch calling to try and see what coaches and players are trying to do with the batters that they face.

If you catch onto what is being called, you have a better idea when you go to the plate or even to be able to tell your team what to look for. If it is working, then it teaches you to adjust just as it does if you are pitching.

If you are getting to the batters and are inside their head or the pitches that you are throwing are working to get them out, then you are doing your job. However, if they are adjusting to your pitches easily, it becomes a learning experience for you and you learn how to adjust to them and find ways to get them out even if you are having a “bad pitching day.”

In the end, the pitch calling is a part of the game and every team calls pitches to try and work to get batters out because that is the ultimate goal. What pitches work to get the batter out is the key to pitching.

The ways in which pitchers throw are all different and like I have said before, no two pitchers are the same. Pitchers can be similar but there will always be differences or things that make each pitcher different from another one.

Batters that bite on high pitches will tend to get high pitches while batters that like low pitches will tend to get low pitches that move so they will bite but be unsuccessful in hitting them.

As a pitcher, you want to make a pitch look good enough to swing at without letting the batter touch the ball.

— Taylor McQuillin