The crowd goes quiet as the pitcher winds up. 

Boom! The crack of the bat sends the ball soaring over the fence for a home run. 

For freshman pitcher Beckley Baumgart moments like this have become regular. With five home runs already this season, she is closing in on the school’s single season record of seven.

“I’ve been playing softball since t-ball for like 10 years,” Baumgart said. “I was interested because I was playing multiple sports at the time, and I tried softball and I really found it a lot of fun.”

Driven by her dad who is always there for her, her teammates are also supportive at every bat.

“My dad inspires me most because he comes with me to all my lessons, my practices, everything and he’s always there for me when I’m playing softball with high school or selects,” Baumgart said. “My teammates have also been supportive and cheering me on throughout the bats and just telling me positive things to keep my head in the right mindset.” 

Through all the good and bad at-bats, Beckley stays in her zone, not letting the pressure get to her.

“I stay focused at bat by just breathing and not worrying about the pitch that’s coming or the last pitch,” Baumgart said. “Like I zone it out, if I had a bad at bat, or a bad last at bat, I just breathe and relax and try not to swing for the fence.”

Having hit five home runs so far this season, one really stood out.

“My favorite home run this season would be my first home run at one of our first tournaments that we ever had at Denton High,” Baumgart said. “This one in particular stood out to me as it was one of my first games as a freshman, and hitting the home run meant a lot.”

Head coach Randi Hamilton is pulling for Baumgart to break the school record..

“This accomplishment would be really big,” Hamilton said. “She’s only a freshman, so right now she’s sitting in place to break the single season record and then right on track with breaking the career record after that. So if she could break that as a freshman, it would just be a really big accomplishment for her and our team as a whole.”

From fall ball to the middle of the District 11-5A season, Hamilton has witnessed Baumgart’s growth and maturity as a player. 

“She has truly gotten better every game,” Hamilton said. “She works so hard and just as the weeks progress, her at-bats have gotten more and more challenging for her because people know that she’s a good hitter, but she has just worked really hard to stay in her zone and stay within herself and just improved with every game. I think that she will continue to compete and be a really big bat and player for us, and I think she’ll just continue to improve as the games go.”