The RoundHouse | 4/24/2024 3:32:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop

Facing great hitters in pressure situations is helping Wichita State pitchers revive their confidence.
 
Those matchups happen in practice over recent weeks as coaches introduced a drill where pitchers throw four rounds against Shocker hitters.
 
Score is kept.
 
"The top hitters and the pitchers in the situations we scored will get a nice meal," coach Kristi Bredbenner said. "The others will get a good meal, but not as nice. There's a little bragging rights on there."
 
The first round is WSU's top three hitters, plus Lauren Lucas, who is far enough in her injury recovery to swing a bat. The second round puts runners on base.
 
"It helps me to have pressure simulated," freshman pitcher Chloe Barber said. "Being able to work through those have been huge for me. It helps me build confidence. We have a very good lineup and if I can have success against them, I can have success against most teams."
 
The third round is vs. WSU's bottom three hitters, plus CC Wong, the nation's top hitter, with the pressure on to avoid turning the lineup over to face Wong. The final round matches pitchers vs. pinch-hitters with scenarios, such as runners on or tie score, to add to the stakes.
 
"We've been trying to put that kind of pressure into our bullpens," Bredbenner said. "We're making it situational, to emulate what a game-like feel is. Coming in in relief or coming out of an inning after we just took the lead – that's been a big struggle for us, giving up the lead right after we got it."
 
 

The Barber Shop 💈 was buzzin' this morning.

🎥 Strikeout Cam pic.twitter.com/Lhm1EWHIcK

— Wichita State Softball (@GoShockersSB) April 21, 2024

 
 
The Shockers (21-19, 12-9 American Athletic Conference) play at North Texas (28-19, 15-6) in a series starting at 6 p.m. Friday (ESPN+).
 
Unless the Shockers can climb into second place to earn a bye into the semifinals of the conference tournament, their goal over the remaining six AAC games is to get their pitching staff cooking. The tournament begins May 8 at Wilkins Stadium. The format forces seeds 3-10 to win four games in four days to earn the NCAA automatic bid.
 
WSU's past seven games indicate an encouraging trend for the pitchers. WSU owns a 2.17 ERA in that span, highlight by back-to-back three-hitters in 9-1 and 5-0 win over UAB last weekend.
 
Barber ended the series with 15 strikeouts on Sunday, her longest outing since a complete-game win over Nebraska in March. She stayed solid with her delivery and recovered quickly when UAB put runners on. In past games, she allowed a walk or a hit to throw her off course.
 
"She stayed calm when she let a couple of (hitters) get away from her," Bredbenner said. "How she responded is what's exciting for us. She's got great stuff and, as long as she doesn't make too much of a situation and get too down on herself, she's going to be really effective."
 
The Blazers threatened in the first with a bunt single and a walk. Barber rallied to end threat. In the sixth, she gave up a bloop double and walked the next hitter. She responded by striking out the next three batters. Leaning on those practice rounds against top hitters such as Wong and Addison Barnard helped.
 
"I can learn how to work through tougher situations, instead of potentially giving in," Barber said. "I was trying to focus on pounding the zone. Any time I would get behind, I would really focus on rhythm and my mechanics."
 
Senior Lauren Howell and junior Alison Cooper are part of the recent trend.
 
On Saturday, Howell struck out six in the 9-1 win over UAB in six innings. Last week, Howell pitched well in a 6-5 loss to No. 6 Oklahoma State, holding the Cowgirls scoreless for four innings. She allowed two earned runs, four hits with three strikeouts in her four innings.
 
Earlier in April, Cooper, in relief of Howell, held No. 1 Oklahoma scoreless over six innings in a 7-0 loss. She followed that by holding USF to two earned runs over five innings in a 5-3 win. Cooper has compiled a 1.61 ERA in her last five outings.
 
"She's starting to spin the ball and really work her locations," Bredbenner said. "She didn't have the confidence she should have had. She's a great pitcher and has great spin. Now we're starting to build that confidence back in her, you're starting to see her pitch really well."
 
The Shockers play six more games before the tournament. Each one is crucial to building that confidence for four home games in the tournament.
 
 

.@laurhowell struck out the side in the Top of the 5th.

🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/p6zePJY5z3

— Wichita State Softball (@GoShockersSB) April 21, 2024

 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.