HANOVER ― Fathers tend to be more demanding of their kids when they coach them, and in the case of Licking Valley’s juggernaut softball team, head coach Chad Dennis and assistant Nate Whisner have learned where to draw the line with their talented daughters.
“I think she was 9 when I first coached her (sophomore Emory), and with her and (older brother and Valley Hall of Famer) Chase, I’ve tended to set unrealistic expectations,” Nate Whisner admitted. “It’s unfair sometimes and I’ve coached them hard, but you want to push them a little, so they can get the most out of growing up that they can.”
He knows Emory isn’t going to be perfect, but on May 19 in a Division IV district semifinal on her home turf, she was. She pitched a five-inning perfect game, retiring 11 of the 15 on strikeouts as the top-seeded, 23-0 Panthers downed Heath 11-0, advancing to the May 22 district final at 2 p.m. at Marysville against Bishop Ready.
“He can be pretty rough, but we’ve been together long enough that we know the difference” (when he’s coaching or being a dad), said Emory, who threw 68 pitches, 43 for strikes. “He just wants what’s best for me.”
Nate said Emory has been around the softball program since the fourth grade.
“There’s benefits to being at the field all the time,” he said. “Emory is super intuitive. She and Chase are totally different, so you coach them differently. I’m a coach on the field, but it’s love at home.”
Not surprisingly, speedy leadoff D’Neya Dennis and No. 2 hitter Whisner set the table at the top of the potent Panthers’ lineup, and against Heath, Dennis went 3 for 3, forcing a throwing error on her bunt single. Emory had an RBI double and both scored two runs.
“He (Chad) pushes me to be the best I can be, and I know it’s more than what’s happening in the moment,” said D’Neya, a junior. “It can be annoying, but I know he wants to make me better. It’s taking in information, and growth. With the two dads we have, being strong father figures, our team is really like a family and it’s a strong bond.”
Chad Dennis said the father-daughter dynamic has changed a lot.
“She started out playing 7-8 baseball in Hanover, then someone said, ‘hey, you should put her in the Lakewood softball league,’ so we did, and she picked it up quickly,” Chad said. “I started out coaching her like I did my boys (Jake and Chad) and I was pretty hard on her. So she came up to me, and said, ‘maybe you can get it across by not yelling.’ So when she comes up and grabs my fingers, I know. She’s made me a better coach and a better dad. I’m her strongest supporter, and stay out of her way.”
Dennis and Whisner have coached together in the Stingrays system, where their daughters played with some of the best players, and also against them in the state and Midwest.
Heath, which finished 4-19 in a rebuilding year, kept Valley on its toes early. Third baseman Leighton O’Reilly threw a runner out at the plate and catcher Kate Zarins picked a runner off first. Pitcher Natalie Blakely saw a hard shot by Dennis richochet off her stomach, but she stayed in the game.
The Panthers had two big innings, and that was enough.
Emma Flowers went 3 for 3 out of the 9 hole and singled in the first run in the second inning. After Dennis’ RBI hit and a walk to Whisner, Alexa Gilliam smacked the first of her three doubles, this one scoring three runs for a 5-0 lead.
Five consecutive hits in the fourth helped seal the deal in a six-run eruption. Flowers singled and Dennis forced a bad throw on a bunt, winding up at third. Whisner and Gilliam had RBI doubles and Tori Baughman a run-scoring single, while Dani Lambert got another run home on a groundout.
“Obviously, with Emory out there, we know we’re in good shape, and with the way we’ve been hitting, it’s a good combination,” coach Dennis said. “We’ve really been swinging the bats. We scored 12 against a good Grove City team on Saturday.”
The Panthers weren’t taking the Bulldogs, or anyone lightly.
“We can’t just think we’re automatically going to win,” D’Neya Dennis said. “We have to play well, whoever it’s against.”
Observed Emory Whisner, who wasn’t sure if she had ever thrown a perfect game: “We talked before the game, and it’s one pitch at a time. Hopefully, we can go on a long run.”
Last year, that was to the regional finals, where they lost to eventual state champion Kenton Ridge, who is loaded again. But they wouldn’t meet until the state finals.
With the dads at the top of the “family,” Valley remains pretty close knit.
“We know each other really well, on the field and off the field,” Emory said. “It’s a bond and trust in each other. We play for each other.”
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Father-daughter dynamic bonds family for 23-0 Licking Valley softball
Reporting by Dave Weidig, Newark Advocate / Newark Advocate
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
