Backstop Beall steps out of the shadows
By Chris Burke
Allen Beall has heard all the taunts before.Players telling him that his sisters, twins Michelle and Nichole, are better players than he is. That Michelle is a more talented catcher. That he will never live up to the family hype.
Have we mentioned that this jawing comes from Beall's Culpeper teammates?
"I mess with him, we all mess with him because of how good his sisters are," pitcher Jeremy Brown said with a guilty chuckle.
"They always tell me how much better they are than me," Beall said. "They give me a little stuff about that, so I have to work a little bit harder."
He may not be sending out any "Thanks for mocking me" notes to his Blue Devil buddies any time soon. But regardless of where the motivation is coming from, Beall is rapidly improving.
The junior has taken command of the CCHS catching spot, and is helping to groom a talented staff.
He is also coming into his own ? both at the plate and behind it.
In early April against Battlefield, Beall shot down three runners attempting to steal, flashing his defensive prowess.
Then, just last week, he had three hits and an RBI as CCHS rolled past Fauquier.
"He's good now, but later on down the road, I think he's going to be tremendous," Brown said. "He's still figuring it out completely."
A catcher all his life, Beall has earned so much confidence amongst the Devils that there is not even another catcher listed on Culpeper's roster.
"We had another catcher that were supposed to come here, and the pitchers said, 'We'd rather throw to Beall,'" CCHS coach Danny Nobbs recalled. "He's soft, he catches like a pillow back there.
"And they don't have to pay too much attention to the runners because he can throw."
A high school catcher does not have as much say over the game as a big league backstop, but a solid presence is essential nonetheless.
That is good news for Culpeper, as Beall has developed into a solid all-around defensive player.
On top of that, Beall's friendly and laid-back demeanor has helped him with Culpeper's pitchers. Beall's efforts behind the plate have helped CCHS develop one of the Cedar Run Districts' best staffs.
"I'm actually pretty comfortable with all of them," Beall said. "I've caught all of them for about two years or so now, I know what they all do. I know they're all good pitchers, too."
They, in turn, are recognizing that Beall is an impressive catcher as well.
But as good as his sisters?
Michelle and Nichole are stars on the Culpeper softball team ? both will play at Radford University next season.
Allen insists, though, that the "sibling rivalry" exists only as much as his teammates create it.
"If I'm watching their game and they do something wrong, I"ll tell them, especially Michelle because she catches," Beall said. "And they'll do the same."
Beall also pointed out that his sisters refrain from proclaiming themselves better than he is. "No they don't do that, actually," he said, then added with a smile, "because they know that's not true."
For her part, Nichole refused to go on the record with a "We're better than you" taunt.
The Devilettes' ace pitcher even avoided responding to the ever-prevalent inquiry: Which catcher, Michelle or Allen, is better.
"I'm not answering that," Nichole said, laughing. "It's great for me, though. If one of them doesn't want to go catch me, I just get the other one to."
All that the Culpeper baseball team cares about is that Allen continues to excel.
And when they are not heckling him, tongue-in-cheek, his Devils' teammates realize that they have access to a pretty talented Beall.
One that might even be as good as his sensational sisters.
Said Brown: "I think he's right up there with them. "