Piedra Vista's Emma Lovato deceiving foes by putting more movement on her pitches

FARMINGTON — Emma Lovato’s already been quick to deceive opposing hitters on where pitches would land within the strike zone.

The Piedra Vista pitcher’s putting more movement on her throws to where they rise or drop in a split second and go to different angles at the plate.

“If you’re able to move the ball around and change up their eyes, then they’re swinging for everything,” Lovato said. “With my movement, it’s all about wrist, staying tight, being able to pull your hand over.”

Lovato also said it’s helped her tally more strikeouts and make it a little more difficult for hitters to make solid contact.

“Since the ball’s spinning, it goes off the bat differently, spins off the bat. If it’s moving and they swing, they don’t hit the ball directly, and they get a foul ball or just a hit they didn’t want,” Lovato said.

Lovato said various movements in her pitches has helped her conserve energy to throw with more speed and last longer in games.

Lovato’s already logged back-to-back complete-game victories over Aztec and Cleveland, striking out 25 of the 53 combined batters she faced between those two games.

“She’s coming along nicely,” PV coach Kevin Werth said. “Any time you can make hitters miss, you’re going to stay longer in the game. Her moving the ball around and changing speeds is allowing her to do that… It’s nice to see her go out there and have command of her pitches, go the distance.”

Matt Hollinshead covers sports and business for the Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4577, mhollinshead@daily-times.com and on Twitter at @MattH_717.

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