Pitcher of the Week three times
— and counting.
The situation Lindsey Lang found herself in was highly unsettling.
During fall softball games, the freshman pitcher was hit hard and often — an unusual occurrence for the recruit from Olathe East High School, where she thoroughly dominated the opposition.
Yet there she was on the mound during fall competition, considered a preparatory time for the regular season, surprised and frustrated as batters sprayed hit after hit to all parts of the field.
“I was like, ‘People are getting hits off me? What’s going on?’’’ Lang says after a recent workout at WSU.
"I think it was a confidence thing. I didn’t know if I could make the transfer to better batters. Then I started figuring out a few little things and the pieces started to fit together.”
And how. Quickly adjusting to Division I play, she’s developed into the top pitcher for the Shockers, who started the season 20-7 and 6-0 in the Valley under first-year coach Tim Walton.
During her second WSU start, she pitched an eight-inning three-hitter against Southeastern Louisiana, allowing just one run while striking out 10 and walking only one. Following that outing, she earned the MVC’s Pitcher of the Week award, which has now become commonplace for her.
After her first 20 appearances, she was 7-2 with a school-record seven saves and a 1.85 earned-run average. She struck out 72 hitters and walked only 16 in her first 83.1 innings pitched.
Walton says Lang’s strength is that she puts an above-average amount of spin on her pitches, causing the ball to break late. Her best pitch is a rise ball, which she throws two different ways: One starts out low and breaks up for a strike, the other begins higher but moves out of the zone. The latter is designed to result in a strikeout as batters chase the pitch.
Lang enjoys pitching. “I’d like to think I thrive under pressure,” she says, “because that’s what makes it fun.” Fun — the entire team is experiencing plenty of that. The Shockers, who were 20-34 last season, are much improved.
Another young pitcher, sophomore Lindsay Craig, is 8-4 with a 2.31 ERA. “She’s great, and we complement each other really well,” Lang says, adding that the team also has benefited from an improved offense, sparked by All-Valley shortstop Tina Lewis.
In addition to softball, another love of Lang’s is photography. “I just like the idea of expressing myself through photos,” she says.
Fitting, since her start at Wichita State has been nearly picture perfect.
