Even people who are good with faces aren’t likely to recognize any in the pitcher’s circle for Saluki softball this year. 

Only one pitcher from last year’s team – sophomore Kiana McDowell – is on the current squad, and even she only pitched 7.1 innings over eight appearances. 

Advertisement

Every other player in the pitching group is new to the team, and all are freshmen outside of senior transfer McKenzie “Mak” Newcomb, a former Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year at Samford University. 

Alongside McDowell, Newcomb is being counted on to help bring familiarity and leadership to a group that has very little college experience.

“It took me a little bit to get acclimated to the way they do things, but once I started catching the hang of everything, I was able to kind of step in and lead a lot of the freshmen,” Newcomb said. 

Advertisement*

Newcomb is also quick to give credit to McDowell and the role she has played in helping provide a veteran presence even just as a sophomore.

“Ki(ana) has been such a big help with the leadership within the staff… I feel like me and her have worked together to kind of help get the freshmen ready,” Newcomb said. “And I’m not going to lie, the first time I met Ki, I didn’t think she was a sophomore, I thought she was a junior.”

Head coach Jen Sewell also was complementary of McDowell, and warned that fans may be surprised to see the player she has become. 

“I think fans are going to be really shocked by Kiana McDowell and the work that she’s put in to become a sophomore… you’re going to see her on the mound a lot first in the game,” Sewell said. “She’s come a long way from eight to 12 innings to becoming an opener type for us.”

The new players weren’t the only change in the pitching room either. Laurin Watts, who hails from Alabama, was hired to be the pitching coach over the summer. 

“Filling in with someone who really matched well with our pitching staff personality-wise, and we did that. That’s very much so a relationship position… there has to be trust between the pitchers and their pitching coach. And I think we were able to get that with Laurin Watts,” Sewell said. 

When Sewell reached out, Watts was eager to come to SIU.

“The championships and the success of the program speaks volumes, and everybody wants to be a part of something great… I think that’s what was super appealing here,” Watts said. 

It’s safe to say that Watts, who calls pitches for the team, has already earned the trust of Newcomb.

“She does an amazing job at it,” Newcomb said. 

While there is a lot of talent in the group, it seems clear that the team will see more of a by-committee approach this season. 

“I think that’s the trend anyway,” Sewell said. “I don’t think we’re really going to prioritize everybody going out there and expecting the seven innings.”

As a part of this committee approach, the different skill sets of the players will be on display.

“Everybody’s got that one kind of niche that they’re good at, and I think it all kind of complements each other,” Watts said. 

Newcomb’s signature is to attack the outside corners of the strike zone, while McDowell is known more as an off-speed ball pitcher. 

Then come the freshmen. 

“We’re going to rely on some freshmen, so that’s always scary,” Sewell said. “But I think they’re good. They’re going to make some mistakes, but I like what they can do.”

Perhaps the highlight of this group is Kaytee Dahlstrom, a righty from California who was named to Softball America’s Freshman Watch List. 

Neither Watts nor Sewell elaborated on what kind of approach Dahlstrom brings, only saying that it’s a “different” look and promising that fans will want to see her perform.

Emma Gipson, who was a two-time small school player of the year in Illinois and holds her high school’s record for single-season home runs, is another intriguing arm with what Sewell describes as a “unique skill set.” Watts also said that she brings a “go-getter mentality,” and that “she’s going to attack the zone.”

Jordyn Stuessy from San Antonio, Texas, is projected by Sewell to see time in some crucial moments as well. According to Watts, Stuessy has more down ball, in which the ball drops during the pitch, and offspeed stuff to her game.

“You’ll see her in certain moments where we need some very specific outs,” Sewell said. 

All of the unique approaches and different skills will play heavily into making this a high-achieving group.

“We’re kind of hitting all four quadrants,” Newcomb said. “I feel like to be a big level or a great pitching staff, that’s what you need… All of us working together, I have no doubt that this pitching staff, we’ll have so much success.”

With such a diversely talented staff, it can be difficult to project or guarantee playing time. Watts isn’t concerned about how the players will take that though.

“They just bought into what we can do to make everything work better as a team… it’s just been the buy-in approach of ‘there’s been success here, I’m going to buy into what you guys are saying because you’ve been successful for a reason.’”

While they’ve bought in, there’s still a lot for the younger pitchers to learn. Newcomb says that she and McDowell have done their best to help prepare them, even with simple things. 

“We try to give them small tips, and off the mound too, making sure they keep their head high no matter what happens in the inning… because the moment you get down, it’s hard to recover from that,” Newcomb said. 

Watts sees them working and learning every day, and says that it’s one of her favorite things about the team. 

“Working with them on a daily basis, every day they come in ready to work, ready to get better at their craft,” Watts said. “Watching them celebrate each other’s success has been huge. They know it’s going to take all of them, and they just celebrate each other.”

Sports reporter Ryan Grieser can be reached at [email protected]. To stay up to date on all your southern Illinois news, be sure to follow The Daily Egyptian on Facebook.

Advertisement