The RoundHouse | 1/9/2018 5:11:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Bailey Lange thinks of herself as a pitcher and her primary importance to Wichita State's softball team will likely come in the circle.
 
Her hitting, however, opens up strategic options that coach Kristi Bredbenner can't wait to consider. Lange, a junior transfer from Northern Iowa, can play the outfield and hit with power. In two seasons at UNI, she hit 17 home runs, compiled a .276 batting average and went 11-11 with a 3.64 earned run average in 46 appearances.
 
The vision of Lange pitching, moving to right field, and swapping back into the circle again intrigues coaches. The Shockers started practice on Monday at Wilkins Stadium.
 
"That gives us quite a bit of depth in a lot of areas that we really needed some help in," Bredbenner said. "She can swing the stick a little bit and has some power. That makes your strategy, in-game, a little more fun."
 
Lange, from Sioux Falls, S.D., is happy with that role and happy at Wichita State. Her new teammates welcomed her quickly and any nervous moments in the new surroundings passed quickly.
 
"Both positions are really fun and I'm comfortable with both of them," she said. "It's a good fit here and I have a lot of fun playing softball here."
 
Lange came to Wichita State with the skill and experience to play an important role and Bredbenner wasn't swayed by some difficult outings last season as a pitcher. Lange beat Wisconsin 1-0 last season and went 5-9 with a 3.80 ERA for the Panthers.
 
"There were a couple things in her stat-line that really intrigued me," Bredbenner said. "In (91) at-bats, she had nine home runs. So that's quite a bit of power from the left side. She also had to pitch a lot of their big games. She did decent, but didn't get wins. In talking to her, that's kind of a confidence-killer. It eats at you as a pitcher."
 
Working with Shocker pitching coach Ryne Stefankiewicz helped in many ways this fall. He refined her release point on her rise-ball and sharpened her mental game, as well. The Shockers open the season on Feb. 9 vs. Marshall in the Plainsman Invite at Auburn, Ala. Wichita State is replacing Jenni Brooks and Katie Malone, who started 142 of 166 games over the past three seasons.
 
"I never really thought about pitching the way that he does," Lange said. "He's not as traditional as a lot of pitching coaches. He has his own ideas – the different way to throw my fastball and my low-rise. I've learned to throw a low-rise for a strike rather than just throwing a really high-rise to get the batter to swing."
 
Wichita State's move to the American Athletic Conference intrigued Lange, because of the competition, and opened the door for her transfer. Transfers within the Missouri Valley Conference must sit out a season, something she did not want to do. She also considered South Dakota State.
 
"She's got a great rise-ball and a really good changeup," Bredbenner said. "She's one of our top, if not our top pitcher, and somebody we can really lean on."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.