Smackover catcher shines in the field and at the plate

Smackover's Karli Goocher goes upstairs to save a wild pitch in action this season. Goocher earned News-Times Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Smackover's Karli Goocher goes upstairs to save a wild pitch in action this season. Goocher earned News-Times Defensive Player of the Year honors.

With a .417 batting average, 10 home runs and 37 RBI, Smackover’s Karli Goocher made an impact with her bat this season. But it was her glove that did the most damage.

The junior catcher anchored the Lady Bucks’ defense. Whether it was blocking balls in the dirt, erasing runners on the base paths or handling a different pitcher every night, Goocher was Smackover’s indispensable component in the field.

“She is the one that everyone wants to have as their catcher,” said Smackover coach Dennis Steele. “She handles the pitchers well. She blocks the ball better than most boys. She doesn’t have many passed balls. She just does a great job behind the plate, framing the ball. Her release is phenomenal to the bases. I think they had one out-right steal of second and that ball bounced in the dirt and she almost threw her out. She’s just a great catcher. She works hard. That’s why she’s so good. She doesn’t sit around all winter. She comes in the morning, does catching drills in the mornings with the boys. She works. She really does a great job of working at it to get better.”

Opponents were credited with seven stolen bases against Smackover but four of those were uncontested. Goocher also picked two runners off first base and another off third.

Despite catching three different pitchers, she was credited with just two passed balls all season.

The giggly Goocher said keeping an upbeat attitude was a key to her success.

“Being a catcher, you’re kind of like the head of the field. You see everything that’s going on. If the catcher has a positive attitude, that kind of generates off of her,” she said. “It just helps the rest of the team stay in that kind of attitude. It’s like the snowball effect. You make a good play and everybody is like, ‘Heck yeah, we got this.’ It’s a snowball effect after that.”

The Lady Bucks posted a 26-4 record this season. Part of the team’s success was a three-headed pitching staff of Abbi Crawford, Karis Robinson and Malorie Pullin. Smackover was able to keep opposing offenses off-balance with three different pitching styles. Goocher managed to handle them all with equal aplomb.

“Really, honestly, because of travel ball, it’s not really that hard. Travel ball, you have more than four pitchers that you have to catch. You just have to learn how to work with all of them,” she said. “Pitchers are super picky about their ball, about their stance, where the catcher sets up at. They’re just so picky. You have to get to know ‘em. Before every game I would be like, ‘So, what are you feeling good about?’ It was all about the pitcher. It was all about her and I made that clear. That’s what made my job easy, knowing who I’m dealing with. If I was going from Malorie to Karis, I would be like, ‘Karis doesn’t really have a rise ball. Malorie has a great rise ball. It was just about changing my mind-set.”

Goocher already has scholarship offers from Morehead State and Henderson State University. She said she’s eager to hit the road hard this summer in travel softball and improve on her skills.

“I couldn’t have done these things that I’m doing and accomplish all of this if it weren’t for God,” she said. “He is my rock and I have no idea what I would do if He wasn’t in my life.”

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