The Front Row with Mark Nelke May 19, 2013

Those line drives Lakeland High senior shortstop Bekah Kastning whacked over the fence on Friday at the state 4A softball tournament?

Years ago, those were rocks smacked with an old stick, leading up to this moment.

If fans statewide didn't know much about who Kastning was prior to state, they learned in a hurry after she hit two two-run homers, including a walk-off shot in the bottom of the seventh inning of Lakeland's 4-3 win over Kuna in the first round.

"You know what? You put her in a spot to do something, and she did what she needed to do," Kuna coach Joe Kleffner said.

Kleffner said his team had heard Kastning had received a scholarship (to NCAA Division II Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Mich.). Kuna decided to challenge the lefty swinging Kastning - until she roped a home run over the fence in right-center field in the sixth to pull Lakeland within 3-2.

After that?

"It was probably the first time all year all four coaches were in agreement - we probably shouldn't throw to this girl," Kleffner said.

In the seventh, Kastning came up with a runner at first and two out, and Lakeland trailing by a run. Kuna tried to pitch around her, but the ball ended up over the plate, and Kastning drove it over the fence in left-center to win the game.

"No, no, no, no," Kleffner said, when asked if Kuna was trying to pitch to her. "We were trying to throw her low outside, out of the zone, and just missed it a little bit and away it went."

He said he didn't recall where the pitch actually ended up - "I just saw it leave the park," he said.

Kastning said she - and her Lakeland teammates - starting hitting better in that game once they stopped thinking, basically.

"The thing about me is, I get inside my head a lot," Kastning said. "The first couple of bats I was like, I have to make this home run.

Once I start telling myself I have to do something, I mess up. So the last two at-bats I told myself, calm down, hit a base hit. That's what it takes for me, at least."

Blackfoot coaches watched the end of that game, and didn't give her much to hit in the next game. They changed speeds, and gave up one single and got her to ground out twice in Lakeland's 1-0 win.

"They (Kuna) made the mistake of pitching her high and inside, and she made 'em pay, so we weren't going to make that same mistake," Blackfoot coach Matt Chavez said. "And it seemed like they pitched the same speed the whole time, so we had to mix it up some to keep her off balance. But she's a fantastic hitter."

Lakeland coach Colleen Bevacqua praised Kastning for her hard work - and her great attitude.

"She's an extremely hard worker, any chance she gets she gets a bat in her hand and she's hitting, or she's hitting rocks with an old tree branch at her house," Bevacqua said. "The girl just hits and hits, and it's just paid off."

"She's just a great player all around, and all of her hard work is paying off," Lakeland senior pitcher Kristin Klopatek said.

THE SAME could be said for Lakeland, which has been to state often in recent years, but had not made much news until two wins on Friday put the Hawks within one game of playing for a state title Saturday morning.

Funny what a little bit of senior leadership, mixed in with confidence, can do.

"We have great leadership that has pulled the team together," Bevacqua said. "My seniors have worked really hard, and they push the younger girls to play up to that level."

Lakeland's four seniors - third baseman Erin Ogden and second baseman Lauren Schwalbach are the other two - all play key roles. Schwalbach, Ogden and Kastning bat 1-2-3 in the order, and Klopatek hits sixth.

Next year, junior catcher and cleanup batter Tifani Schorzman and junior right fielder Larissa Langenderfer, the hero of Lakeland's regional championship win, will be asked to take over those leadership roles. Of the other four starters (Lakeland used a "flex" player at state, three are freshmen.

So they will be asked to keep the run of state appearances going.

Klopatek knows what that's like. Her sister, Jamie, pitched for Lakeland from 2007-10 During that time, the Hawks' best finish at state was fourth in 2008. But none of those teams won their first two games at state.

"It's good to follow in her footsteps," Kristin Klopatek said. "But it's even better to go out there and do better than she did."

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at CdAPressSports.