“Pitching and defense win ballgames,” or so the old adage goes.
Depth in the pitching circle isn’t always a given for a lot of teams, even in today’s softball. More and more teams have gone the path of assembling a pitching staff as opposed to rolling with one workhorse pitcher, and that effect has now even trickled down to the mid-major levels for teams outside the Power Five.
Here’s a look at some full pitching staffs that we’re excited to see take the circle in 2021.
1. Long Beach State
>>> Kellie White – a former all-conference honoree at Utah State – spent the last two years at Long Beach, earned all-Big West honors in 2019 while leading her team in ERA, and was on her way to a true breakout campaign when the 2020 season shut down. White held a 1.96 ERA with eight wins and 78 strikeouts on the abbreviated year, and elected to return for her “super senior” season in 2021. She’s joined in the circle this year by Shannon Haddad, who transferred in this fall from San Jose State. Haddad had a sensational freshman season at SJSU, posting an even 1.00 ERA with eleven wins and 79 strikeouts. White and Haddad were of good quality as individuals last season, but now as a staff, should make for quite a tandem in the circle.
2. Boise State
>>> The Broncos lost their two-best ERAs from a season ago, including ace Kelsey Broadus, and return former Minnesota pitcher Hannah Bailey. The Broncos’ potential strength in the circle comes from two transfers, former Creighton pitcher Kiele Miller and Sara Johnson, who transferred in from Towson. Miller is a former all-Big East selection, owns 334 career strikeouts, and was on her way to career-best numbers when the 2020 season shut down. Johnson was an all-rookie selection at Towson as a freshman in 2019, when she also batted over .300 at the plate. Opponents batted .199 against Johnson during the shortened 2020 season. Throw Bailey in as an experienced #3 and the Broncos’ staff could be what helps keep them in the championship conversation in the Mountain West.
3. Tulsa
>>> There are some questions about the Golden Hurricane and how they’ll shape up in 2021, but very few of those questions have to do with the team’s pitching staff, which is arguably deeper than the entire rest of the American Conference. Samantha Pochop notched an impressive 0.87 ERA in 2020, holding opposing hitters to a .170 batting average. Chenise Delce – she of the shutout over Arkansas to open the 2019 regional round – owns a 1.61 career ERA, and former Texas Tech transfer Kassidy Scott rounds out the members of the staff who earned regular work. Tulsa brought in Oklahoma great Paige Parker as their new pitching coach this summer, and if her own talent in the circle translates to the coaching box, the Golden Hurricane will be in great shape in the pitching department.
4. North Texas
>>> An article with this kind of headline couldn’t be complete without mentioning the Mean Green, and we summed up the UNT pitching staff in our Conference USA preview over the weekend. “Hope Trautwein deservedly headlines the Mean Green’s offerings in the circle – and she’s one of the best in the business – but UNT’s staff got exponentially deeper with the addition of former Texas Tech transfer Gigi Wall, who could fit nicely into the #2 role on the staff behind Trautwein and, along with 3rd-year hurler Bailey Tindell, provide some impressive depth at the position.” The Mean Green are a solid team in 2021, and their pitching staff is undoubtedly their best feature.
5. Western Kentucky
>>> Kelsey Aikey and Shelby Nunn combine to form a quality pair in the circle, and both had sub-2.00 ERAs a season ago. Aikey led the team with ten wins, and was an all-conference selection in 2019; she owns a career 2.58 ERA and opponent’s have hit .217 against her in her career thus far. Nunn led all of Conference USA with a 1.15 ERA to her credit last year, and let’s not leave out Kennedy Sullivan, a two-way player who was an all-region selection in 2019. She could easily fit into any top-3 role on the staff; the combination of the three hurlers should keep WKU in legitimate contention both in the conference and once the postseason comes around.
