On Saturday morning in Oklahoma, pitcher Brenna Nation was not thinking about the Terrapins softball team’s 6-15 record, her 6.78 ERA or the recent death of her father that sometimes overwhelms her with emotion in the pitching circle.
Instead, she focused on throwing each pitch as well as she could.
Nation said she didn’t know she was throwing a no-hitter — the program’s first since 2013 — until a stream of jubilant Terps ran onto the field after the team’s 8-0 win over Saint Louis.
“When everyone was coming up to me to congratulate me, I didn’t understand what was going on,” Nation said. She added that she was glad she didn’t know about the no-hitter as it was happening because it might have distracted her.
Nation, who sometimes gets in her own head in the pitching circle, was able to “trust the process of each pitch,” coach Julie Wright said.
“She wasn’t thinking about the future; she wasn’t thinking about the past. She was staying very present,” Wright said. “That was really the difference for her.
In the fall, assistant coach Lisa Norris had Nation overhaul her pitching mechanics. And that ongoing process has been difficult for her at times.
But last week, Nation put more work than usual into her mechanics — especially her leg movement and keeping her arm close to her body — and the extra effort paid off.
“That made all the difference,” Nation said. “Once I got on the mound, I trusted myself because I was mechanically sound.”
Catcher Kristina Dillard said she noticed Nation’s newfound calmness and confidence right away.
“Her presence on the mound was totally different,” Dillard said.
Nation’s positive energy was contagious in the dugout, Dillard said, and she hoped the pitcher’s improved performance was “something that we’re going to be able to work off of come the next part of the season.”
In a tough start to their 2016 campaign, the Terps had a temporary reprieve Saturday, looking on as Nation etched her name into the record book.
“It was a cool moment to watch someone so into what they were doing and really performing at their best,” Wright said.