Fast-pitch softball is all about the pitcher on the Division I level, and the Bradley tournament last weekend in Pekin, Ill., proved to be a battle of the pitchers. Averaging nearly seven strikeouts in four games, Saint Louis University pitchers Ashley Levan and Lorena Floccari led the Billikens to a 2-2 record at the Dragon’s Dome on Feb. 24-25.
“Good pitching always beats good hitting,” coach John Conway said. “When you get to this level of softball, it gets more and more difficult to score runs.”
The Billikens won their first two games against Northern Iowa University and Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis 2-0 and 9-1, respectively.
“Our strength in the first couple of games of the tournament was our hitting,” Conway said. “Going into this last weekend, I had anticipated our defense to be better, but we were able to score runs and put pressure on their defense.”
Northern Iowa, which was seeking revenge after it dropped the tournament opener the day before, jumped out to an 8-0 lead through the first four innings. Conway said that this was because he wanted to give the freshmen some game experience.
In the first game against Northern Iowa, Levan pitched her team out of some tough situations, enabling the Billikens to score runs. Conway also said that the reason UNI was victorious was because they were able to slap the ball over the infielders’ heads.
“I wanted to give the freshmen a chance to show me what they could do in the second game against Northern Iowa,” Conway said. “They need experience to develop, and hopefully they step up and carry us at some point.”
Against Bradley, the last game of the tournament, the Billikens rallied on two separate occasions to take leads, but they were unable to pull it out, in the end. The Braves took advantage of several SLU mistakes and advanced a run in the first inning. An error, two singles, a passed ball and a wild pitch accounted for the run, which gave the Braves an early 1-0 lead.
After several lead changes in the middle innings, SLU was tied 3-3 at the end of seven innings. Bradley, however, won the game in the bottom of the eighth when Trish Kowalewski singled in Anne Creighton, who was placed on second at the start of the inning due to international tiebreaker rules.
Conway attributes the last two SLU losses to the indoor facility. Although the conditions are more stable inside, it was different than playing out on the dirt. He considers it “an adjustment period.”
The Billikens’ success, according to Conway, revolves around keeping the pitchers more relaxed and confident to throw strikes and maintaining defense throughout the game.
“At this point, we’re just trying to get everybody involved,” said Conway. “But our biggest thing is getting ahead of the hitters and letting the defense play behind our pitchers to get some outs.” In addition to improving defense, Conway said conditioning is integral to SLU victory.
“Softball isn’t an endurance sport but rather a speed sport, so we’ve structured our conditioning around speed and agility,” Conway said. “Because we play double headers, we want them to be just as strong in the second game as they are in the first.”
Despite losing the last two contests of the tournament, Conway said he was pleased with how the Billikens fought back after going down early.
“Three freshmen started the game, and we battled back to score four runs, but you can only get so much out of your offense,” Conway said.
“This is our spring training, so we’re trying to get everyone some experience and see what they can do.”
At this point, everything the Billikens are doing is getting them ready for the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships, according to Conway.
“I think we are going to surprise some people,” he said.
The Billikens return to action next weekend when they host three other Missouri teams for a tournament at The Billiken Sports Center. Missouri-Kansas City, Missouri State and Southeast Missouri State will join SLU in a Benefit for Breast Cancer beginning Saturday, March 3, at noon.
