Model of consistency: Frazier's consistent career has Warriors on verge of repeat

ONTARIO — As Ontario senior Joslynn Frazier rounded third after hitting a mammoth solo home run in Wednesday's 10-4 win over Pleasant, she saw her entire team crouched down behind home plate snapping imaginary photos with their finger cameras.

A few steps from the plate, she exited her home run trot and went into a "red carpet" walk waving her hand like a model. Call it the white chalk walk.

She sported her signature smile before leaping in the air and landing on home plate with both feet as her teammates celebrated the homer by smacking her on the helmet. It's funny Frazier went into a model-type walk because, for her entire career, she has been the model of consistency for the Ontario Warriors. And it is that consistency that took a stagnant program for years and turned it into a championship contender.

Where it all began and how it's going

Frazier, like every other spring sport athlete in Ohio in 2020, had her freshman season canceled before she could even take the field due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So, Richland County softball fans didn't get to see what Frazier could do until her sophomore season when she broke out in a big way. She hit .484 with 45 hits, eight doubles, a triple, 10 home runs, 37 RBIs and 40 runs scored while sporting a .538 on-base percentage in 26 games.

Not too shabby for a kid who couldn't even drive herself to the ballpark on game days.

So, needless to say, she wanted to have a big junior year to keep things going. The Warriors played just 18 games last season due to weather, pandemic issues and a lot of things out of their own control. Frazier still had a huge year hitting .453 with 29 hits, 11 doubles, seven home runs, 27 RBIs and 21 run scored while sporting a .527 on-base percentage. Her average hovered around the same and RBIs were pretty close to her sophomore season while hitting just three less home runs in eight fewer games.

Despite the shorter season, Frazier helped her team achieve something it hadn't in 22 years winning the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championship, the first league championship in softball since 2000.

And the Warriors are right back in the mix this year thanks in no small part to Frazier who is hitting .6-7 with 37 hits, nine doubles, seven home runs, 31 RBIs, 25 runs scored with a .642 on-base percentage in her team's first 17 games. Ontario sits tied with River Valley for the league lead with four conference games left to play.

Building consistency

As Ontario coach Sen Snow took a glance at the stat sheet for the 2023 season, he couldn't help but notice Frazier's numbers, albeit slightly elevated from last year, are eerily similar to each of the past two seasons. The consistency from year to year is what has the Warriors in the midst of five consecutive winning seasons.

"I think it is so impressive," Snow said. "As a coach, you notice different personalities in your players and you see the girls who come into something as small as practice and practice as hard as they play and she is definitely one of those girls. She works on hitting the ball in different spots off of the tee when we are inside the cages. She is always working on her defensive fundamentals with short hops, backhands, and forehands, everything she does, she does to get better and that is the most impressive thing about Joslynne."

Building consistency didn't just happen by accident. Frazier, who spends her summers traveling around the state and sometimes the country for various travel ball teams, made sure she took bits and pieces of things she learned from each coach and each teammate she played with over the years and put them all together like a perfect .509 career batting average puzzle.

"It all boils down to the years of practice I have put in and hearing so many different voices from all of the coaches I've had," Frazier said. "I tried to take everything I've ever learned from those coaches about this game and put it to use. I have had a lot of coaches teach me a lot."

Frazier, who will play collegiately at the University of Findlay next year, worked her way up through different travel ball organizations and admits that is what helped her develop into a well-rounded softball player.

"I started off on a really low Black Widows travel team and progressively, I moved up to the Sting Rays and Lasers and it helped me kind of break out of my comfort zone," Frazier said. "Playing on those travel teams puts you against some incredible competition and it really shows you where you are as a softball player. I saw what I could do and proved myself and also learned a lot of ways to improve on my game."

And improve she has. For her career, she has 111 hits, 28 doubles, one triple, 24 home runs, 95 RBIs and 86 runs scored as a member of the Warriors. And she has two more weeks of regular season softball and the tournament to go.

Not bad for a player who uses high school ball as a warm-up for the summer season.

"It is all about getting reps," Frazier said. "I take high school ball as a way to get as many reps as I possibly can and do what I need to do to help my team win a championship. It is such a good way to get ready for the travel season because you are playing in some high-pressure moments so early that when it comes time to play travel ball, nothing surprises you."

Mental game work

In the Fall, Frazier played a little fall softball, but in preparation for the life of a college softball player, she wanted to work on her mental game so she could get used to the high-pressure situations and the grind of everyday competition when she got to Findlay. So, she played high school golf for the first time in her career.

With matches nearly every single day and a sport where every single shot matters, Frazier developed a strong mentality and a laser-sharp focus that translated perfectly to softball. It also helped her get a few extra swings in.

"I think my softball swing helped more with my golf because I already had that swing going and it was just about making adjustments so it worked on the golf course," Frazier said. "It was easier to transfer that swing over to golf. But what golf helped with more was with the mental game. It takes so much to build up the mental side of sports and all of the heartbreaks you have on the field, it takes a lot to keep your cool.

"I love thriving under pressure."

Frazier performed well on the golf course helping the Warriors take second at the MOAC tournament behind Pleasant. In the Division I sectional tournament, she shot a 53-56-109 at a very tough Sycamore Springs course as her score was good enough to score well for her team as the Warriors took fifth and advanced to the Division I district tournament. There, she shot a 61-57-118 at the impossible Stone Ridge Golf Club in Bowling Green.

While her scores weren't up to par with those advancing to the state tournament, Frazier took more out of golf than she ever thought possible. She had fund navigating courses and thinking about the next move much like she has to do on the softball field in various situations. She had to pull off a shot in pressure-packed moments much like she has to do when the bases are loaded with two outs and her team down one needing a clutch hit.

It is no wonder why her batting average is up 154 points from last year.

"She helps us in the circle with her pitching tremendously, but with the bat and her consistency at the plate, it's impressive," Snow said. "She has been my 3-hole hitter since her sophomore year and that is arguably the most important spot in the batting order and usually where you put your best hitter. It isn't always about hitting home runs, but in each of the last two seasons, she has led the team in that category and is right up there again this year."

Life in the circle

Where her mental game growth really came in handy was in the pitcher's circle. Frazier is one of three No. 1 hurlers for the Warriors and when she isn't starting at third base, she is slinging screwballs at batters in an effort to make them look silly. More often than not, she achieves that goal.

And just like her batting stats, Frazier's pitching numbers are consistent across the board.

As a sophomore, Frazier went 2-0 with a 4.81 Earned run average with 55 strikeouts, 44 earned runs allowed in 64 innings and just 10 walks.

As a junior, she went 5-2 with a 2.83 ERA allowing just 19 earned runs in 47 innings with 34 strikeouts and just 14 walks.

This year, she is 3-2 with a 1.94 ERA allowing 11 earned runs in 39 ⅔ innings with 43 strikeouts and just nine walks.

For her career, she owns a 10-4 record with a 2.04 ERA. She has allowed 74 earned runs in 150 ⅔ innings and owns 132 strikeouts to just 33 walks.

Not too bad for someone who is rumored to hate pitching.

"It is a myth from what I understand," Snow said with a smile. "She is going to Findlay as a third baseman and she is truly one of the best third basemen I have ever coached. She can make these hard plays look so easy. I think that is her focus, but when she steps between those lines, Ontario softball is No. 1 for her and when will give the team whatever it needs and if that means she has to go strike out 10 batters, she will. I think it is a myth that she hates pitching because I heard that too, but when it is her time in the rotation, she is locked in and gives it everything she has."

And that kind of approach can be a major credit to why the Warriors have turned things around so drastically over the last three seasons. They ended a 22-year league title drought and seem well on their way to repeating thanks to Frazier's leadership and team-first attitude.

"It is a huge part of why we have been successful these last few seasons," Snow said. "No matter who you are, you have to lead by example. When you are coaching at the high school level, you have to have players who are good examples for their teammates and we are very happy that Joslynne Frazier is that for us."

And Frazier is happy to have that role.

"It feels great because coming in here with this great team and showing everyone what we can do is gratifying," Frazier said. "It is so good for our program because the younger girls want to keep this thing rolling after us."

And the Warriors likely will. They are set up for a future of success with talented young players who learned from great leaders like Frazier.

And who knows, the model of consistency might just hand the White Chalk Walk off to the next big bopper in the lineup.

jfurr@gannett.com

740-244-9934

Twitter: @JakeFurr11

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ontario senior Joslynne Frazier has Warriors seeking Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference repeat