Jul. 18—CHEYENNE — Jaylyn Christensen was introduced to some quality competition at the USSSA Colorado state softball tournament last weekend.
The sophomore for the Cheyenne Extreme-Galicia under-18 fastpitch team was one of five pitchers the team used during the tournament, and facing the level of competition provided some important experience for her.
“It took her about an inning-and-a-half, two innings to get going,” Extreme coach Adam Galicia said. “But when she finally settled in, she had a great game.”
Christensen hopes to help the Extreme carry their momentum from winning the Colorado state title into the USSSA U-18 National Championships in Fort Walton, Florida.
Cheyenne opens the tournament with a contest against Mo-Co Rush out of Arcola, Illinois, at 8:20 a.m Tuesday.
“I think we’re going to compete really well against those teams, especially if we get our bats going,” Christensen said. “If we just go into every game with confidence and positivity, we’ll do great.”
Perhaps the step up on a national stage could spark some more confidence for Christensen, who agreed that sometimes, the lack of confidence might hold her back from reaching her maximum potential.
“For me, my confidence should be higher when I come in (to games), sometimes I don’t have that faith in myself that I can do it,” she said. “I’m definitely working every game on how to improve that and help my team even more.”
She was one of the top contributors for a Cheyenne East team that took fourth at the inaugural Wyoming state softball tournament in May. The opportunity to pitch more innings throughout the season with the Lady Thunderbirds helped her work on her craft in the circle.
Christensen is continuing to build on her season with East, while also working on that short memory.
“She’s improved on her pitches, her techniques — her screwball and curveball,” Galicia said. “But, the biggest area she needs to work on is being mentally tough, that’s what we’re really working on.”
With Janey Adair and Ariana Galicia as Extreme’s primary pitchers, and Michaela Moorehouse as the third option, Christensen hasn’t had the opportunity to pitch as much as she did during East’s season, where her momentum was really starting to pick up.
“She hasn’t gotten to throw a lot in this club ball season, obviously she got to throw a lot during high school season and she was really coming on,” Galicia said. “We’re so deep in pitching, so she’s not getting all the reps she was, but she’ll be back.”
Extreme loses Galicia and Moorehouse following this summer, putting Christensen in a prime position to become one of the most reliable options for next year’s Extreme roster.
It’ll also set her up to be the top option for the T-Birds during her junior campaign.
“She’s going to be the man, so to speak,” said Galicia who is also East’s head coach. “And she’ll come back and be our No. 2 with our club team and No. 1 at East.”
But before next spring rolls around, Christensen is making sure her arsenal of pitches is coming together, and once that meets with her new mental approach, she could keep batter’s off balance even more.
“I’ve been working on my screwball and my drop ball, but my curve ball has definitely improved the most,” she said.
Added Galicia: “All of her pitches have improved, it’s just carrying that from practice to the game. Next year I really see a big breakout year for her, as long as we keep progressing the way she’s going now.”
Robert Munoz is a writer for WyoSports.
He can be reached at rmunoz@wyosports.net. Follow him on Twitter @rmunoz307.