Before every game, Terrapin softball coach Laura Watten meets with her coaching staff to decide who they’ll trot out as starting pitcher. Most teams have a clear-cut No. 1, but the Terps have a problem most teams would envy.
In pitchers Kendra Knight and Kerry Hickey, Watten has two aces for one spot.
“It’s a really good thing that we have more than just one effective pitcher,” Watten said. “They’re both just so good. They both could be solo number ones on any team in the country, so we’re just really fortunate to be able to have two of such a strong caliber.”
Though the two pitchers are essentially equals on the rubber, there are considerations she factors into her decision. After scouring through their scouting reports, Watten and her staff decide what’s a better fit for the Terps: Knight’s speed or Hickey’s movement.
Other times, she just goes with her gut feeling.
As the more experienced of the two, Hickey has often taken the lead for the Terps in doubleheaders and weekend series. Watten said Hickey will likely do it again today when the Terps take on Delaware State in a doubleheader.
“Typically, we’ve started Kerry just because she’s had more innings and she’s been more confident in the beginning part of the season,” Watten said. “But as the season has gone along, they both have really got close to equal time. Kendra’s just really matured a lot. … [She’s] really just grown so much throughout the season. She’s just really done a great job of working hard and getting better every day.”
Watten has ridden the arms of Hickey and Knight to a possible NCAA Tournament berth and, after a rough start to conference play, recent ACC dominance.
Knight was named ACC Pitcher of the Week yesterday after she held N.C. State scoreless during the weekend in 14 innings in work. The announcement marked the third time she has won the award this season and the fourth time a Terp has garnered the accolade this year.
Together, the tandem has made the pitching staff arguably the ACC’s best. The Terps lead the conference in ERA (1.65), haven’t allowed double-digit runs all year and have given up the fewest runs in the conference as well.
“I think it’s an incredible feat,” Watten said, “especially in a conference as good as ours. It’s great for us to have such strong pitching.”
Even as the Terps’ offense failed to click through the opening weekends of the campaign and sputtered at times throughout the year, the pitching staff helped to keep the Terps afloat.
The imbalance between the team’s pitching success and offensive woes became so glaring that players admitted their embarrassment following low-scoring losses. And after a futile offensive performance wasted Knight’s 18-strikeout effort against Towson in early March, Watten said “these hitters owe these pitchers a whole lot more.”
The Terps’ offense has improved of late, but even when the team has struggled to score runs, the pitchers have guided the team to victory.
“They’ve been holding it down for us,” infielder Alex Schultz said. “They’ve been doing a really good job. It keeps us in ballgames.”
And as the Terps’ season draws to a close, their pitching strength is poised to again be instrumental in not only getting them into postseason play for the first time in 10 years, but succeeding once they get there.
“One of the keys to actually getting into the tournament is really being able to have depth in your pitching,” Watten said. “That’s one of the things the committee looks at, and how you’ve progressed in a season. We feel like we’ve really gotten so much stronger as the seasons’ gone along. We definitely have the depth in our pitching staff — I really feel like it’s a huge factor for us.”
schneider@umdbk.com
