St. Thomas Softball Pitcher Racks Up Amazing Stats
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The St. Thomas softball team has a pitcher that's been nearly impossible to score on lately. And that might have as much to do with her numbers off the field as anything else.
Those numbers will turn your head, turn your bat, and send you back to the dugout shaking your head.
"She's got a rise, a drop, a curve, a screw, and a change that she can locate in different spots," said coach John Tschida. "That's what makes her tough. Not only the locations, but you don't know what pitch you're going to get."
Kendra Bowe has won her last eight straight outings and given up exactly one earned run during that span in 42 innings.
"I would say control is definitely my strength," Bowe said.
She's 54-11 as a college pitcher. And against conference opponents, she's 35-2 with an ERA of 0.96, including playoff games.
If you think that's a good ERA, you should see her GPA. She's a 3.88 student, giving her the rare chance at the honor of being both an Athletic and Academic All-American.
"Almost all of our All-Americans are Academic All-Americans," Tschida said. "We've had 30 All-Americans and 28 have been Academic All-Americans. So I think it goes hand in hand. You get that type of kid who doesn't like to fail and is kind of a bit of a perfectionist."
Bowe's athletic drive and determination may be one and the same with the focus to do well in both school and academics.
All this success comes from a player who wasn't even going to play college softball until changing her mind at the last minute.
"I thought I was ready just to be done with sports, kind of start a new life, a new identity, that's what college is all about," she said. "Definitely didn't happen. And definitely the best decision I ever made."