CHEYENNE — Cam Moyte is confident her production at the plate kept her in Cheyenne Central’s starting lineup during her freshman season.
She is equally as certain her defense at second base earned her the opportunity to work out of her offensive struggles last spring.
Indians coach Carrie Barker said Moyte is being too hard on herself, and that her perfectionist tendencies unfairly color her perception of two solid seasons on the diamond. Nevertheless, Moyte is hopeful her junior campaign is the one where both her bat and her glove are up to her lofty standards.
“The fact my coaches believed in me enough to keep me in the lineup instilled a lot of confidence in me,” Moyte said. “It’s a lot easier to step up to the plate when you know the people standing down at first and third base believe in you.”
As a freshman, Moyte batted .400 (26-for-65) with four doubles, three triples, two home runs and 14 RBI to help the Indians finish as runners-up at the inaugural Wyoming state tournament. She was at her best at state, batting .400 (6-of-15) with two doubles, a triple, two home runs and five RBI in four games.
Last spring, Moyte’s batting average dipped to .286 (24-for-84) with eight doubles, a triple, one home run and 22 RBI as Central again finished as state runners-up.
“I struggled a lot because I was trying to figure out how to play softball on my own,” Moyte said. “One of my best friends quit last season, and I had never played softball without her, so I struggled emotionally.
“That knocked me down, but I had to get back up and keep moving. This year is going to be a new start.”
Moyte still had an impact for Central even though her batting average declined last season, Barker said.
“She had a lot of big hits in big moments,” the coach said. “Every girl wants to hit better, but she was good at driving in runs when we needed them. She also was great at bringing up team energy and being a leader.
“Cam is a perfectionist and will always be harder on herself than anyone else ever could be. She has really high expectations for herself, which is why she describes herself as struggling last season. She definitely met the expectations of the coaching staff.”
Central graduated five seniors from last year’s starting lineup. Moyte will be looked at to continue to set the tone with her energy. She’s also changing positions in the infield.
“She’s going to be playing shortstop this year, so she’s taking on a bigger role,” Barker said. “She’s a great middle infielder, has great hands, is willing to lay out for balls and has a strong arm. We always had her at second because we had other shortstops with more experience at that position.
“She played a lot of shortstop for WYCO, and got a lot of reps there.”
Moyte is confident she is in for a bounce-back year at the plate, and she has reason to be. She batted .390 (30-for-77) in 31 games with the WYCO under-18 team last summer. Moyte also rapped five doubles and drove in 14 runs.
Her average was second-best on WYCO’s roster behind Brogan Allen, her former Central teammate who picked up Wyoming player of the year honors from Gatorade last spring.
Moyte’s extra base totals show there is considerable pop in her bat, despite the fact she stands just 5 feet tall — 5-1 in cleats, she notes. She hasn’t always been a heavy hitter, though.
“Because of my size, and the fact I usually bat near the top of the lineup, the other team expects me to bunt and try to get on base that way,” Moyte said. “I learned how to do that growing up because I wasn’t always hitting for power.
“I just try to hit line drives, and that helped me hit a few home runs. I like that I can bunt to get on base or hit home runs. I like having that versatility.”
Being a power hitter is about more than being big, Moyte added.
“A lot of it is mental and being confident you can hit off any pitcher, no matter who much bigger they are, or how hard they throw it,” she said. “Technique is important, but so much of success in softball and baseball is how strong you are mentally.”
