Gianna Gomez is thankful to be part of the Barnegat softball squad’s historic run toward a state sectional championship, and she fully recognizes the fact it takes an entire team to score victories in title games.

But let’s be frank. It’s a well-documented fact that, in softball, defense truly matters — yes, it matters in other sports too, and plenty of coaches throughout history have made the case for how defense wins championships — and, in softball, the defense starts with the pitcher.

And this year, true to the potential impact of the position, Gomez has been in control, almost literally, of the…