Dedication to the game

But either way, she will leave St. Maries as one of the best fast pitch softball players that has come through its program.

Her senior season is not finished, and she currently has the highest number of strikeouts in the state of Idaho across all six classifications.

And the numbers aren’t even close.

As of April 30, Taci had pitched 16 games and recorded 219 strikeouts. The next closest pitcher, from Borah High School, had 158 strikeouts in 18 appearances.

Her ERA, or earned runs allowed, is also the best among Idaho’s softball teams.

She led Idaho in strikeouts as a junior, recording 289, 55 more than the next-best pitcher.

She said before a practice last week that her teammates have played a large role in St. Maries’ recent success.

At the start of the week the Lumberjacks were 13-3 and will be the top-ranked Central Idaho League team going into next week’s District 1-2 tournament at Orofino.

“We’ve been hitting the ball really well this year,” Taci said. “I couldn’t have had any of my success without my teammates. From freshman year when I first started, the upper-classmen that year gave me all the confidence in the world, and this year the team has really stepped up, from Brenna (Elliott) our catcher to our outfielders, everyone is playing great.”

Fast-pitch softball was sanctioned in Idaho nearly three decades ago. The first full season of fast pitch in St. Maries was 1995, when Taci’s mother, Brianne, was a sophomore. She was also a pitcher.

She hit two home runs in her career. Taci passed her mom last week, hitting her third home run in St. Maries’ win over Lakeland.

Brianne’s team won a state title her freshman season, where she said they mixed in some fast pitch to prepare for the following year.

“I was just kind of thrown into it and we made it work,” she said following Saturday’s doubleheader with Liberty. Taci threw a perfect game in the first installment and fanned 15 batters in the second game, a 10-0 win. “My dad and I spent hours and hours in the pitching gym, and we just figured it out. However, we figured it out wrong.”

In the mid 90s, fast pitch was a new concept for many softball players. Brianne said that while she was able to learn the skill and compete at the time, fundamentals were lacking, leading to some shoulder problems.

“That’s why Taci, when she decided she wanted to pitch, we wanted to make sure that we got her with a really good pitching coach so she had the fundamentals, and it’s paid off," Watkins said.

Taci worked with Scott Wagner, a college coach in Spokane, when she was in her late elementary school years. She said her weekly visits were where her love for softball began.

“That’s when I started loving pitching and realizing that I needed to put in the work to be where I wanted to be,” she said.

Where she wanted to be was exactly where she is today, atop state rankings.

Beyond her weekly workouts in Spokane, Taci has pitched with her father, and current coach, Lane Watkins, on a regular basis at her grandfather, Barry Badgett’s, pitching gym, an extension off of his shop complete with a rubber mat, nets and tees.

She has thrown thousands of pitches in that gym.

“I think that was a big step, when he built that for me,” she said. “Because I had a location to go in the wintertime. I definitely could not be where I am without my dad. He’s my catcher, too, when I’m practicing. It’s just always been me and my dad. He’s my biggest supporter, him and my mom.”

As for her relationship with her dad, who took over as head coach of the St. Maries softball team this spring and calls pitches for his daughter, she said they agree on things, most of the time.

“I shake him off once in a while, and he just thinks it’s funny,” she said. “I shake my head and he laughs and says ‘I saw that!.’ We’re definitely on the same wavelength a lot, though. I’ll be thinking we should throw a change-up, and he’ll call a change-up.”

Taci played three seasons for Todd Bitterman, St. Maries’ head coach from 2008 to 2022. Her freshman year was cut short due to COVID-19. The Lumberjacks played one game, a 4-6 loss to Timberlake. Taci recorded 17 strikeouts in the effort.

The following two seasons, St. Maries went 40-9 and earned state softball trophies both years.

The Lumberjacks took third last year, losing to eventual champion Malad 0-1 in a semifinal pitching duel.

“The thing that stands out about Taci is her commitment and drive to be where she’s at,” Bitterman said. “It’s not by accident that she puts up the numbers she does. She understands the game, she’s coachable, her enthusiasm and competitiveness for softball are unmatched. She’s built to pitch, and kudos to Lane and Brianne for all they’ve done, too. Taci is a special player.”

Taci’s fastball is currently in the low to mid 60 mile-per-hour range, which is the national average for college softball pitchers.

She reached 65 mph in a game two weeks ago, a milestone for her and a number she has been aiming at for some time.

She will attend the University of Montana this fall where she will study to earn a Bachelor’s degree communicative sciences and disorders, and a Master’s degree in Speech and Language Pathology.

She has been in contact with the Grizzlies’ head coach, and plans to try out for the softball team.

“I’m going to try out for a potential walk-on spot,” she said. “I’m not sure, it’s not guaranteed so I’m not sure what’s going to happen. Whatever happens, it’s going to be a hard goodbye when it does end. It’s always been such a big part of my life, it’s going to be hard to say goodbye to.”

St. Maries plays at Timberlake Wednesday, Genesee Friday and opens district tournament play in Orofino Tuesday, May 9 where it will look to earn a trip to Pocatello later this month for the 2A state softball tournament.