By Joe Barone -- STAFF WRITER Former New York Yankees manager Miller Huggins once said, “A good catcher is the quarterback, the carburetor, the lead dog, the pulse taker, the traffic cop and sometimes a lot of unprintable things, but no team gets very far without one.”
This season, the Hofstra Pride softball team struck gold and discovered all of the above in Brittany Allocca. When Erin Trippi graduated this past offseason, the Pride lost a reliable veteran. With the catcher’s position vacant, Allocca saw it as familiar territory.
She was faced with an easy decision. It was time for her to make the transition from starting first baseman to a position she has known her entire life: the catcher.
“I’ve been catching since sophomore year of high school,” said Allocca. “At this point, it is natural to me.”
The game of softball has become natural for the current player and aspiring coach. Since she started at eight years old, Allocca has fallen in love with the sport and believes that you should “go out and have fun, but stay focused” during every game.
With comfort, confidence and composure, Allocca is primed for a breakout season in her sophomore year. Throughout the first portion of the schedule, the Stormville, New York native has stood out with an average over .300 and an Alex Rodriguez-esque slugging percentage above .500.
The humble star admits there is always room for improvement. Yet, Hofstra supporters ask, where?
Outsiders may not see it, but because catchers have a unique vantage point of the entire game, Allocca is her own biggest critic. Criticism aside, Allocca uses her behind-the-plate perspective as an advantage other fielders may not notice. She has the ability to see what others are blind to.
While runners lead off first and third base, Allocca can determine and communicate to the rest of her teammates who gets the ball, when the ball should be delivered and where the throw needs to be in a blink of an eye. Hesitance and uncertainty will not get her anywhere. It is that type of softball IQ that separates Allocca from her competition.
"As a catcher you have to be more vocal so everyone can hear you,” said Allocca. “You have the best view of the field and can see everything. You just have to take command out there.”
That is where being a quarterback enters the conversation. Allocca takes command of her teammates like Peyton Manning would. She is the carburetor that gets the Hofstra Pride’s engine running. She is the lead dog to the mound when her pitcher gets into a bases-loaded jam. She takes the pulse of the team in anxiety-stricken situations and directs respectable orders like a traffic cop.
It was all listed in the job requirements. Allocca was fine with it.
“I [tell myself to] stay focused and play the best that I can every game,” said Allocca. “Not only am I playing for myself, I am also playing for 17 other people on my team.”
“I need to prove to them that I want to win as much as they do,” she challenged herself.
Her selfless attitude does not go unnoticed. It has helped build strong relationships with the other ladies that don the same blue and gold on game days. Part of being a catcher is the mental and emotional aspect. Without respect and trust between pitchers and catchers, success will not occur. Being on the same page has only positive repercussions for the team.
“Every position is very important and everyone does everything they have to do,” said Allocca. But she added, “It is huge to have a relationship between pitchers and catchers.”
The great Casey Stengel wisely said, “No baseball pitcher would be worth a darn without a catcher who could handle the hot fastball.”
And the evidence is there. With Allocca behind the dish, there is a sense of stability among the pitching staff and eight other ladies on the field. It creates chemistry.
That chemistry gets brewed even more at challenging practices, designed by Hofstra head coach Larissa Anderson, as everyone pushes one another to get better.
Last season’s success has fueled her determination to repeat as CAA champions. Allocca believes it will take another collective effort to receive the same results. After all, the team came together during last year’s stretch run, winning nine consecutive games prior to the conference tournament.
“I really believe we are going to do great [this year],” said Allocca. “We lost a couple of pieces [from last season] but I think we are going to bounce back really well.”
Being that she is the catcher, Allocca has that aforementioned vantage point nobody else sees. If she believes this team has what it takes to repeat as CAA champions, chances are, her word is good.