SYD VICIOUS
By Ty Bartell
AUSTINTOWN OH- Every once in a while the local high schools sports world gets a phenom. A young man or
woman that could be described as “must see” at their tenure in their respective school. An individual that not only changes the landscape of that sport in their school, but the entire state in which they represent! We, of course, are talking about Austintown-Fitch junior and Georgia-Tech commit, pitcher Sydnie Watts!
Coming from humble beginnings, Watts’ story began at the young age of about eight years old where she first found herself involved in the sport. Playing for her dad for her dad Tommy Watts for years, Syd has stayed true to the work she puts into the sport by getting the most out of it. Thus making the years of sitting on the old bucket catching Syd that much more worth it for Tommy.
Coming up through middle school, Syd developed one of the nastiest fastball and riseball combinations you would ever see, effectively making her one of the most effective high school freshman pitchers we have ever seen! In her first year at the varsity level, Watts put together a 22-3 record, logging 143 1⁄3 innings while striking out 314, walking 42 and having an ERA of 0.83! See those numbers and you may think “how does she go up from there?”
A season of travel softball and Watts added to her pitching repertoire, adding a screwball, a changeup and just about anything else she wishes to toss to the dish. Her sophomore campaign was highlighted by an undefeated record of 22-0-2 while striking out 281 in 129 innings pitched, Watts only surrendered 33 walks in her sophomore season with an astonishing .038 ERA, capped off with a Division 1 State Championship!
To this point in her junior season, Watts continues to impress with her ability to consistently get better, raising fans’ expectations of wanting to see her toss a no-hitter everytime she pitches, which she has done 13 times in her career along with four perfect games! At the time of this article in her junior season, Watts has racked up 135 strikeouts in 65 1⁄3 innings of work, walking 14 and sporting a 0.69 ERA through 12 games this season.
Call her the Ohtani of softball, because Syd is not just a pitcher, she can swing the bat as well! A career .486 hitter, Watts has a total of 42 extra-base hits in her highschool career with 21 of those being home runs! She has driven in 69 RBI in her career and has gotten on more that she’s been out with a .538 career on-base percentage.
“Syd Vicious” has been lighting it up since day one with Fitch, as she just might be one of the most feared and talked about pitchers in, not only the area, but the entire state of Ohio! However, when you talk with her, you may not get those vibes. Extremely confident in herself and her abilities, Watts rarely brags about her talent, regularly opting to differ the credit back to her teammates.
Coming from an amazing household, Syd has always had her dad as a secondary coach to help her with all things softball. While her mom, Krissy, has been described as Syds “Travel buddy” where she has been to more camps and college campuses that most of us would be able to handle. With Tommy the 24/7 coach and Krissy the biggest fan, it has made games fun throughout the years. Make your way to any Fitch game and you’ll be able to see “The Watts Triangle” with Tommy and Krissy at separate foul poles and Syd completing it in the circle.
An amazing young lady from an incredible family, Sydnie Watts is the latest high-level athlete from the Mahoning Valley area and before that bird leaves the nest to fly south for college, you would be doing yourself a great disservice by not witnessing what she has brought and continues to bring to the game of softball.
YSNs Ty Bartell and Anthony Hartwig got the chance to catch up with “Syd Vicious” on her career so far, coming off a state championship win, committing to Georgia-Tech, the pressures of being nationally ranked and so much more! You do not want to miss out on this edition of Player Profile with Falcon phenom Sydnie Watts, exclusively on YSN!
Presented By:
