Pitt State softball’s flamethrowers off to hot start

So far, Pitt State softball’s pitchers are performing well in the young 2023 season.

Key Takeaways:

• Pitt State pitchers struggled in the 2022 season but are off to strong start in 2023.
• Coach Jenny Fuller is happy with how the pitching has started.

The pitching for Pittsburg State Universities Softball team has been strong so far in kicking off the 2023 season. 

As of Feb. 23, Pitt State softball is 10-6 overall after a weekend sweep in the Pitt State Invitational, where the team won by forcing mercy rule for three of the four games. The bats have been solid, but that was not the question coming into this season. The real question was how pitching was going to fare after a not-so-great 2022 campaign. 

Those questions have been answered so far for the pitching staff, led by junior Hannah Harrison and redshirt junior Lilli Weir. Harrison was on last year’s staff, putting up a respectable 3.84 ERA as a sophomore, while Weir is a newcomer from Division 1 Western Illinois. 

Second-Year Head Coach Jenny Fuller says she is pleased with how the season is going for her rotation. She doubles as the pitching coach for her squad, and through 17 games, she is happy with how her pitchers are playing.

“I’m very happy with how the pitchers have done,” Fuller said. “I know they worked really hard, and I just think that with the pieces we have that are veterans and with new pitchers, it is a very good mix.” 

Fuller also noted that the pre-game preparation has been a lot stronger from last year. She explained some of what they have been doing to improve in that area.

 “A big part in our success was that we’ve taken our scouting up a notch this year, so we have a video service where we can go and scout other teams’ hitters and stuff,” Fuller said. “Then we use a spray chart of other hitters, and our pitchers have done a really good job of looking at those, and I think we just go in with a game plan on how we want to attack hitters and they believe in it.” 

Bree Sexton has rotated in for a few games, but the starting rotation has come down to Harrison and Weir in the early part of the season, with Harrison producing a 1.98 ERA while Weir has put up a 2.48 ERA. 

Harrison was a big part of last year’s team, earning 19 starts over the course of that season. This year she is off to a hot start, but she knows that it’s early and there is work to do. 

“It still is early, still a lot of games to be played, but I’m having fun,” Harrison said. “I still think there is a lot of room for improvement, things I can work on, I definitely want to get my walks down. So even though I am proud of what I’ve been doing, I still think that I have a lot of room to get better and improve throughout the season.” 

Lilli Weir is new to Pittsburg State, but she has already established herself as a good pitcher for Fuller’s squad. She has earned her place in the rotation, and she feels pretty good about how the pitchers have played so far even in their losses. Weir said the community support is very nice to have.

“I feel like Pittsburg is really unique in itself when it comes to sports,” Weir said. “We have a lot of community support and there’s a lot of support when it comes to sports. I feel like that’s unique when it comes to any school. I also feel like the coaches here push me pretty hard and believe in me, which is really nice.”

Both pitchers talked about how nice it is to have the run support they got over at the Pitt State Invitational tournament, and Harrison said she likes the run support, as the dugout is more festive during those games. She did say that it is good to have close games though as a competitor. Weir, on the other hand, likes the competitive nature of close games and the feeling that the game rides on her shoulders but also admits it’s nice to be able to have a blast in the dugout with her teammates. 

The Gorillas played in the Pitt State Invitational Tournament on the weekend of Feb. 18 and completed a doubleheader sweep of Drury University and Wayne State University. They have since played another tournament in Topeka, completing another sweep of the competition, but had a rain cancellation against Southwest Minnesota State University on Feb. 18. They were up 18-0 in the third inning when the game was canceled. 

They will play next Saturday, March 4 against Missouri S&T and Truman University at the Pitt State Softball Complex.