DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

Jane Messersmith has been pitching for the Newport Harbor High softball team since she was a freshman.

A closer look, however, reveals just how much more Messersmith means to the Sailors.

She is also the leading hitter for the Sailors (6-6), batting a robust .625 with three home runs and five doubles. In Newport Harbor’s wins this season, Messersmith is 20 of 23 for an even more impressive .870 batting average.

And, although Messersmith is typically the pitcher, that’s not always the case. Fellow senior Lauren Talbott also pitches, which means Messersmith will shift to shortstop, a position she said she hadn’t played since she was 12.

Then, there’s another senior, catcher Robin Gautschi. She will be on a school trip in Europe next week, and the plan is for Messersmith to catch the team’s Sunset League opener at Edison on Thursday.

There’s no truth to the rumor that she also sells popcorn at the games.

“I caught one game last year, but I’m not a catcher at all,” Messersmith said. “It’s fun. Whatever I can do to help the team out.”

Messersmith has helped the Sailors out plenty. The most recent example was Newport’s 14-0 victory over Tustin at the Northwood Tournament on March 22. The Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week threw a no-hitter, and went four for four with a home run and a double.

But don’t expect Messersmith, a team captain, to brag.

“She underplays her accomplishments,” Coach Melissa Branch said. “She’s more than willing to help other people on the team. She helps me run drills. I could see Jane being a coach one day. The look of intensity on her face, just in practice, she has the fire, the intensity, the yearning. Even when she’s just hitting balls on a tee, it’s just the intensity.”

Branch would know. She has had Messersmith, who carries a 3.8 grade-point average and will attend Bucknell University next year, in her Spanish classes at Newport Harbor.

“I admire her as a person,” Branch said. “The intensity she puts forth on the field, I saw in the classroom as well.”

Messersmith played a bunch of sports growing up, trying her hand in swimming, tennis, ballet, even flag football with the boys. Her younger sister, Jill, plays soccer, but softball turned out to be the most fun for Jane.

Her freshman year at Newport Harbor, she wasn’t a pitcher for much of the year, as then-senior Ashley Gleason was the star. Still, there were signs that Messersmith would be someone to look out for in years to come.

In 52 innings that year, she had six wins and led the team with a 0.54 ERA, making the first of her three straight Daily Pilot Dream Teams.

“On weekends, when we’d play more than a game, I’d pitch the second game,” Messersmith said. “Our coach even let me start one league game, and that was kind of when I set my roots in here. Ever since then, I guess I just took over. The only two pitchers we had was myself and [Talbott].”

Messersmith, who is 3-4 this season with a 3.49 ERA, always could pitch. It’s also the position she plays for her travel-ball team, the Anaheim Hills-based Victory USA Gold team.

Perhaps more satisfying has been her hitting. Her freshman and sophomore years, Messersmith hit “just” .214 and .263, respectively. Not bad for a pitching-dominated sport like softball, but she wanted more.

Last year, she improved that average to a team-best .413, and she hasn’t looked back.

“Freshman and sophomore season, I wish I could have contributed more to the team hitting-wise,” Messersmith said. “It’s just nice to know that I helped my team score more runs. I think that comes with being less nervous, and maturity. I’ve improved every year, and it’s nice to see that in numbers.”

The numbers for the Sailors are just as optimistic. Newport Harbor has already doubled its win total from a year ago, behind the leadership of seniors like Messersmith, Talbott and Gautschi. All three players have been starting on varsity since they were freshmen, and Branch said the coaches don’t need to call pitches because the battery-mates are so familiar.

Messersmith said the general vibe this year has been more positive, as has the overall effort of the team members. It has the Sailors hopeful for a CIF Southern Section Division I playoff berth, she said.

“It would be nice,” she said. “Our school hasn’t made it to playoffs ever since there’s been a softball program. We’re hoping to be a part of that this year. It being our senior year, it would make it a lot more special. Playoffs is a big thing.”

Then again, so is a player who is willing to play whatever position her team needs her at.

“She’s a pitcher, she’s a hitter,” Branch said. “You put her somewhere and she can do it.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or by e-mail at [email protected].