Softball’s unforseen star shines bright

Junior+Meagan+Prince+pitches+the+ball+during+the+Wildcats+game+against+the+Eastern+Kentucky+Colonels+John+Cropp+Stadium+on+Wednesday%2C+April+13%2C+2016+in+Lexington%2C+Kentucky.+Photo+by+Taylor+Pence

Junior Meagan Prince pitches the ball during the Wildcat’s game against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels John Cropp Stadium on Wednesday, April 13, 2016 in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo by Taylor Pence

Lamar Smith

Sports is a world where the unexpected is to be expected. Stars can be born overnight. Meagan Prince, junior starting pitcher for UK softball, has been the unforeseen star for the Cats this season.

UK Softball is ranked No. 12 in the country and is 36-9, including 12-5 in the SEC. The team’s dominance has no doubt sprouted from the improvement of Prince’s game.

A lot was expected of Prince after being named a two-year Class AA All-State member coming out of Westview High School in Martin, Tennessee.

Prince is not a flash in the pan. She finished 8-4 with a 3.47 ERA and 13-8 with a 3.43 ERA in her freshman and sophomore UK seasons. She has been a solid pitcher, but this year she has improved her game to another level.

Prince was 14-0 with a 1.28 earned-run average through 15 starts before losing her first game at home against Auburn on April 1.

The junior said her evolution as a pitcher this season came mostly from physical changes rather than a new mental approach.

“There really wasn’t much on the mental gain that I worked on,” Prince said. “It was mostly the physical gain – just being able to command both sides of the plate and being able to locate my pitches at will, where I want to put them, and how high and how low I want to put them.”

Prince has already thrown three no-hitters this season, becoming the first UK player to accomplish this feat since Kelsi Dunne in 2009. She has thrown only 15 innings in her three no-hitters, including 17 strikeouts. UK has dominated opponents when Prince is at her best.

The pitching staff as a whole has five no-hitters, which leads the SEC. Junior Shannon Smith and sophomore Erin Rethlake threw the other two no-hitters for the Cats this year.

While UK has been dominant in the circle, its batting has taken any and all pressure off the pitchers. The team boasts four hitters batting .340 or better, including Sylver Samuel’s .380 average.

“Having run support is huge. It allows us to throw and to not be as cautious and it allows us to throw what we think would be best for the batter.” Prince said. “We’re going for the strikeout instead of to keep it in the infield.”

But Prince is just one half of UK’s dominant pitching combination that includes two Tennessee natives. The other half is senior Kelsey Nunley. Nunley was the leading force on UK’s team which made the Women’s College World Series just two years ago.

The two are a combined 32-7 with 21 combined complete games and headline the fifth-best pitching staff in the nation in terms of ERA (1.54).

Prince has also helped her game by observing Nunley’s excellence on a daily basis.

“She has pitches that are her dominant pitches that are not mine, and being able to have her in the bullpen and say, ‘Hey, what do you think about when you throw this pitch? how does your body feel when you throw this pitch?’” Prince said. “Just being able to do that has really helped improve some of my pitches and improve some of my command, and stuff like that.”

The hard work has paid off. Prince’s strength has been locating her pitches, but she has only thrown 94 strikeouts in 115.1 innings pitched.

Prince’s ability to keep balls low is an indicator to why she does not rack up a bunch of strikeouts. The pitch is meant to keep balls in play for easy outs and creates bad, choppy hits for the batter.

Prince is confident in her team’s chance and feels like UK softball has a good chance of getting back to the Women’s College World Series again — maybe even even hoist the program’s first National Championship trophy.

“I think we definitely have the team to do it,” Prince said. “We just need to stay focused and we definitely need to take it one game at a time. Focus on what we’re doing that game, how we need to improve from game to game, and I think that’s how will get there.”

A lot of factors have contributed to UK’s best start in recent years, but none more than Prince’s improved play. The junior has grown from an underclassman pitcher, who oozed potential, to an upperclassman ace, who is the straw that stirs the drink which is UK Softball.