Lawson Confident in Young Pitchers Heading Into Postseason
As the Kentucky softball team begins play this weekend in the NCAA Tournament’s Lexington Regional, the Wildcats will have two pitchers with no NCAA Division I Tournament experience leading the charge.
Freshman Grace Baalman has become the ace of the UK staff, with a team-high 12 wins to go along with a 2.37 ERA. Baalman has struck out 93 batters this season while allowing just 45 walks. Sophomore Autumn Humes, a transfer from Harding University, is 9-7 this season with a 3.27 ERA.
While the inexperience might create headaches for some coaches, UK head coach Rachel Lawson feels good about her pitching staff.
“I’m not as concerned anymore,” Lawson said on Monday. “I think, going through a whole season, (Baalman and Humes) are both obviously a year older. (Finishing classes) and being able to focus on softball has helped a lot.”
Junior catcher Jenny Schaper has seen Baalman and Humes display an immense amount of toughness this season.
“They’re awesome, I couldn’t ask for more from them,” Schaper said. “Being two new players to the SEC, they’re fearless. They step out on the mound and it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. We had the second hardest schedule in the country and they just stepped right into it and hit the ground running.”
Kentucky faces Illinois-Chicago in opening-round play on Friday at 2:30 p.m. ET. Michigan and Notre Dame are the other two teams in the regional. The double-elimination tournament continues on Saturday, with the finals set for Sunday.
As Schaper mentioned, the Wildcats have faced one of the nation’s most difficult schedules this season, including playing in the SEC, where all 13 competing teams were selected for the NCAA Tournament. Lawson knows what it takes to win in tournament play, and she knows that the SEC slate prepared her Wildcats for what’s ahead.
“The postseason is about pitching and defense,” Lawson said. “Our pitchers have seen some of the best hitters, they’ve gone through the murderer’s row of the SEC. They do that week in and week out. Just to be able to learn how to survive it and then, learn how to get people out is quite a challenge. For them to be able to do that week in and week out in the SEC I think is really going to bode well for us in the postseason.”
Schaper agrees with her head coach.
“I feel like we’re as prepared as any team in the country,” Schaper said. “Playing the SEC schedule every single weekend, every pitcher you get is dominant.”
Kentucky also has another, more experienced pitching option in senior Erin Rethlake. Last season, Rethlake was the winning pitcher in the Lexington Regional title game, as she pitched 5.2 innings, giving up just one run and five hits as the Wildcats topped Illinois 4-2. This season, the left-hander is 9-4 with a 3.13 ERA and has 70 strikeouts in 85 innings pitched. In her most recent start, Rethlake beat nationally-ranked South Carolina 8-4 on UK’s Senior Day.
Lawson knows that Rethlake will be good when called upon.
“Erin Rethlake has been outstanding the last couple of weeks,” Lawson said. “I think her ability to get on the mound and command what she wants to know is going to be a big deal for us moving forward. I feel really good about where our pitching staff is right now.”
The experience that Kentucky’s pitchers have gained this season will help the team as they face a difficult regional this weekend.
