With the ASU softball season well underway, the changes in pitching techniques and mechanics that co-interim head coach Letty Olivarez has helped her pitchers work on is being made evident.
Perhaps the most notable differences come from sophomore right-handed pitcher Breanna Macha.
After being voted ASU Newcomer of the Year for the 2015 season, Macha has looked to develop a more substantial motion, with Olivarez being the brains behind operation. The two are trying to remove unnecessary motion from the windup and focus more on the actual pitch.
Olivarez found that Macha’s execution took a lot of strength and thus prompted a change in her pitching motion.
“I felt like she was wasting her energy by doing too much that wasn’t providing enough for her actual pitch,” Olivarez said. “We tried to take out some of her extra movement, that will hopefully allow her to last a little bit longer throughout the games and not use so much energy.”
In 40 games last year, Macha had the fifth-lowest ERA in all of the Pac-12. In the offseason, she ensured that her focus would be on her mechanics.
Macha said she felt confident that a change in her pitching would excel her to the next level in her pitching career.
“I had a hard time last year trying to find out what really worked for me, so once I found something that actually did click it was so much better,” Macha said.
She has appeared in 14 of ASU's 26 games this season, producing a record of 6-2. She has managed to strikeout 26 batters and acquire a 3.43 ERA.
The change for Macha was an uphill battle both mentally and physically. After learning the new mechanics in the fall, she has been changing weekly to try and find her perfect movement.
Olivarez has been the backbone for her pitcher's growth this year after not only changing the style but also adding pitches and refining her form.
At the beginning of the season, Macha's pitches were tracked lower in the frame and lacked movement. Olivarez decided to add new pitches to give Macha an edge against batters.
“She needed to develop something that was a little bit more able to change the batters eye and so we developed more of a screw ball and a rise ball," Olivarez said.
Macha takes pride in focusing game by game and not letting her record define her as a pitcher.
“I didn't even know I was 6-2, and adding (Kelsey) Kessler has helped me mentally because I can go longer in the game and focus more," she said.
Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Kelsey Kessler said there is more to the game than what is seen on the sidelines — especially for pitchers.
Kessler noted that before coming to the Division I level, Macha never had to worry about the intricacies of pitching. She was able to "sleep walk" through the high school season, Kessler said, and added that Macha "didn't need anything other than to show up to win."
The collegiate level of competition provides Macha a greater challenge.
“I’ve just been trying to get her to understand that the mental and strategic side of the game is going to take her to the next level, because that’s the difference from being good and being great," Kessler said.
Kessler, who leads the team with eight wins and a 1.58 ERA, spoke with conviction when she said she thinks Macha could be great.
“I think by the end of her career, she is definitely going to be better than I am and she has the potential to be one of the best pitchers to come through this program," Kessler said.
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Reach the reporter at kcvalen1@asu.edu or follow @kvalenzuela17 on Twitter.
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