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Sometimes, Erin Abbott wishes she didn’t think at all.
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St. Charles' Erin Abbott delivers a pitch Monday during a game against Lewiston in St. Charles. (photo by Katie Derus/Winona Daily News) |
The St. Charles High School senior has been playing softball on varsity since seventh grade and got called up to pitch toward the end of her sophomore year, right when the playoffs hit.
Talk about pressure. But Abbott didn’t feel any of it. She just played and led St. Charles to the section tournament.
“Now when I think about it, I don’t know how I did that,” Abbott said. “I was young. It was crazy.”
Now, it’s her senior year, her last year. She and the Saints have gotten to sections every season, but never to state — always a step away, but short every season.
Not this season. Not if Abbott has anything to say about it. She sure won’t think about it. Not about the pressure to get to state. Not about the game at all. Not if she can help it.
“The first few games, I was thinking a lot,” said Abbott, who has helped the Saints get off to a 10-0 start. “Now, I’m just trying to relax, just go up and bat or go out and pitch and try not to think.
“It probably sounds weird, but I know I’m focused. I’m not worried about it.”
Everyone else is. Abbott has been blowing away batters all season.
“I think this year, Erin can taste it and she’s hungry,” St. Charles coach Clarence Chuchna said. “They all are, but Erin in particular. She’s got this passion this year and one thing on her mind, ‘Just win.’ ”
Abbott may have found the perfect combination of instinct and strategy.
She’s 8-0 on the season and has allowed just one earned run. She’s struck out 84 and walked just three in 52 innings. Opponents are batting .094 against her.
“She’s really changed her style of pitching,” Chuchna said. “Instead of overpowering, she is trying to outsmart them now. She seems to have control of all her pitches. Everything is finding the plate.”
On Tuesday, Abbott struck out 13 and walked just one in a 1-0 win over Wabasha-Kellogg — a team that’s been to state the last two seasons.
The Saints have given up four runs this season, and three of those runs came in a 10-3 win over Lewiston-Altura on the back side of a doubleheader where Abbott didn’t pitch.
In all but two games this season Abbott has struck out 10 batters or more.
She has two no-hitters, including a 15-strikeout effort in a 9-0 win over Fillmore Central. Her other no-hitter came in five innings against Rushford-Peterson. She struck out 10 and walked two in that one.
Abbott gives credit to a couple of people for her dominance this season. One is Winona native Mitch Grossell, who has helped a lot of softball players in the area with their pitching.
The other is Abbott’s catcher Emily Nelson. Not just because Nelson’s calling the game and throwing out the few base runners Abbott allows, but Abbott can also thank Nelson for her offense.
At times this season, the Saints’ offense is almost nonexistent. But, Nelson finds a way to break through.
Abbott is batting .375 this season with two home runs and 13 RBIs. Nelson is batting a whopping .567 with two homers, two doubles, a triple and 11 RBIs. She’s slugging .900.
“Her hitting is where Nelson really stands out,” Chuchna said. “Even her outs are good outs.”
In a 1-0 win over Southland, Nelson had the team’s only three hits, including an RBI double in the first inning. Abbott struck out 14 and walked one to hold the shutout.
Twice this year, Abbott has been intentionally walked and Nelson came up next and made the opponents pay.
One was a home run and the other was a bases-loaded double.
“Sometimes I think that’s a good move on their part,” Nelson said. “But when I get up there, I think, ‘You just made a huge mistake.’ I get pretty fired up about that.”
The entire team seems pretty fired up, and it’s because of the fire those two bring. Whether it’s at the plate or in the field, the Saints’ Abbott and Nelson act is a lethal combination.
