Young pitchers show promise across eastern Iowa

Young pitchers across eastern Iowa have been dominating the softball diamond this summer, leading to excitement for the next several years in the area.

In the Southeast Iowa Superconference’s North division, four of the top five pitchers in ERA, strikeouts, opponent batting average, wins, walks allowed and WHIP were freshmen, with Highland’s Jillian Stransky, Louisa-Muscatine’s Grace Hoopes and Wapello’s Quinn Zweibohmer appearing in all six categories. The remainder were made up of Hillcrest’s Ella Mize and Lyla Genkinger and Pekin’s Kendra Schultz. Juniors Abby Zaruba of Lone Tree and Addison Smith of Pekin made up the non-freshman spots.

While the league’s south division is slightly older, still only a single senior appears in the top five of those categories, West Burlington-Notre Dame’s Madelyn Thomas, while New London freshman Kylea Schwenker and Danville freshmen Brynley Wenig and Addison Waste appear in several categories.

A similar story can be found in the nearby South Iowa Cedar League with Keota freshman Jessalyn Aller and BGM sophomore Cara Arment, as well as in 3A and 4A conferences such as the WaMac, where Mt. Vernon freshman Kinley Nissen and Clear Creek Amana eighth grader Kynlee McElvain have found success.

As teams have jockeyed for position in regular season standings and fought for high seeds in the postseason brackets, that pitching has been critical.

Stransky gave up one total run against Lone Tree and Pekin to begin the week as the Highland offense worked its way through a cold snap. Zweibohmer didn’t give up a single earned run in Wapello’s upset victory over L-M on Wednesday. Hoopes has delivered nine zero or one-run games throughout the season.

“It just shows how talented everybody is,” Stransky said. “It just shows that I need to be pushing harder to show my best and be the best. It’s showing me what other people out there can do.”

While several young pitchers are bringing their teams success this year, they also bring excitement for the future of softball across the eastern half of the state, particularly in the Superconference.

“These other programs have worked hard to get better, and that’s giving everybody better competition,” Highland coach Carrie Wieland said. “I think it’s been a great thing to see.”

With the postseason set to begin next Monday, only time will tell if experience will be a determining factor in who goes to Fort Dodge. Regardless of the outcomes over the next three weeks, though, the next three years will see dominant performances in the circle that hitters will need to battle through each and every night. According to Wieland, those hitters will benefit the most from the rising pitching tide.

“It’s going to get better each year, make the competition a little better, and I think it makes us all better hitters and better players.”