For King William softball, culture is as important as fundamentals

It was just a matter of time.

Sooner or later, the King William Cavaliers would fire up their offense, manufacture runs, and establish dominance over Middlesex, their Tidewater District rival whom they hosted Thursday night on their well-kept diamond in Central Garage.

That moment came, finally, in the third inning of what became a convincing 10-0 victory over the Chargers, a young, rebuilding, but plucky squad which has six freshmen and four sophomores on their 13-player roster.

It came because they were patient and unflappable when runs proved all too scarce early on.

It came because senior righthander Jillian Smith gave them time with which to work with a masterly performance from the circle that ultimately resulted in nine strikeouts (including eight consecutively in the middle innings), one hit, no walks, and three base runners, none of whom advanced past first thanks to her teammates’ defensive gems.

It came, also, because they lived this season’s theme: INAM (pronounced I-NAM) which means, simply but emphatically, “It’s not about me.”

Each year, you see, Elizabeth Welshonce and Jim McGuckin, the Cavaliers’ co-head coaches, put forth to their girls a beyond-the-sport point of emphasis which, best-case scenario, becomes inculcated into the team’s culture.

They don’t just talk about it from time to time, post it on their locker room wall, or use it as an occasional rallying cry.

They make it part of their practices several days a week through honest discussion, visualization exercises, and introspection designed to create an all-for-one, one-for-all mentality.

So when they observe Motivational Monday, Teammate Tuesday, Way Back Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, and Family Friday (among many), it’s not just for show. It’s for making one another, and the team, better, now and in the future.

“It’s a daily reminder,” Welshonce said. “Maybe 20 minutes. Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have given up 20 minutes to have discussions and go over our thoughts. It’s exponential. We’ve seen the value in it.”

Not a value that can be quantified, however, even in a sport ruled by statistics.

“There’s not a number on it,” Welshonce said, “but we’ve seen a shift in how many girls come back and communicate with us, how many reach out after graduation, and how many are thankful for what we do.”

There’s more, of course.

“We’re both very into the chemistry piece,” McGuckin said. “Are the girls getting along? Are they backing each other up? That’s the most meaningful thing to us.

“At the beginning of the year we weren’t really sure from a chemistry standpoint, but now, we feel very good about the growth we’ve made.”

Against the Chargers (7-7), Adalyn Mills led off the first inning with a walk, stole second, and ultimately scored when Hollyn Krukowski, a Christopher Newport signee, drew a bases-loaded walk.

The home half of the third was pivotal.

That’s when the Cavaliers (11-1) unlocked their offense by, as they see it, putting their credo into practice and made the outcome a fait accompli.

“We look forward to (the theme) every year,” said Krukowski, the Cavs’ catcher and a four-year veteran. “It gives us a sense of direction. It gives us a reason to be all together and have fun. It can’t be about yourself. It’s about the team. It’s going with the INAM.”

With two outs, Smith, a Shepherd University signee, stroked a single to left, moved to second on a passed ball, and scored when Chloe Harley-Atkins reached second on an error. Emma Wilson followed with a single to right to score Harley-Atkins.

Abby Wright kept the rally going by reaching second on an error as Wilson raced home with the Cavaliers’ fourth run.

Addison Kirby followed with a triple to right scoring Wright and then put the Cavs up 6-0 when she sprinted home on a wild pitch.

The Cavs pushed across their seventh run with two outs in the fourth.

Freshman Zoey Robinson singled sharply to centerfield on a 1-2 pitch, moved to second on a wild pitch and to third on a passed ball, and scored when Krukowski reached base on an infield error.

They added two more runs in the fifth.

With one out, Mills beat out an infield single, stole second with a head-first slide, moved to third on a wild pitch, and put the Cavs up 8-0 when she scored on another errant pitch.

Robinson, who went 3-for-4, followed with a towering home run over the left field wall on a belt-high, inside fastball. 

“I was just trying to make contact and get on base,” said Robinson. “I was running the bases hard because I thought she (the leftfielder) was tracking (the ball) and trying to catch it, but it went over.”

Robinson, who’s joined a high-achieving program with high expectations, has shown that she’s ready for the moment.

“It’s great to have those ladies to guide me,” she said of her older, more experienced teammates. “I really look up to them as people.

“At the end of the day, we’re all trying to grow together and win and get as far as we can. It’s thinking about other people and not about yourself.”

In the home half of the sixth, Wilson led off with a single to left on a 1-2 count and ultimately scored on a wild pitch to end the game.

Smith, who faced just 19 batters in six innings, delivered 65 pitches, 55 for strikes.

“Curve balls and screwballs were working very well,” Smith said. “I loved it. In the first inning, I struggled a tad bit hitting my spots. After that, I fell into my rhythm and started to feel it.

“I know when I pitch and the ball’s hit, my team is going to back me up in the field because we’re playing for each other.”