The beauty of Mundelein senior pitcher Nicole Parney’s style in the circle is her unpredictability.
She’s adept at working the outside edge of the plate for strikes. But as soon as a hitter thinks she can adjust and take the ball to the opposite field, Parney pounds the ball inside.
“I love keeping batters off-balance,” Parney said. “I try to keep them guessing. If a batter is looking in one spot too much, I can usually tell. If I catch a girl sitting on something outside too often, that’s when I’ll surprise her inside with my screwball and jam her. When I locate my screwball, it’s really hard to do anything with it except hit it foul or miss it.”
Her outing during a 6-2 nonconference loss to Fremd (3-0) on Wednesday, March 30, was a great example of how her stats often fail to tell the whole story. She allowed 11 hits but stranded nine runners. Only two of the six runs she allowed during her complete-game effort were earned. She was the biggest reason Mundelein (2-6) trailed by just a run headed into the fifth inning.
“Even when there are mistakes in the field behind me, I just block it out,” Parney said. “No one is perfect, and I have a ton of confidence in my teammates. We’re improving every single day, every single practice. You can’t let those things affect you.”
Parney also admitted she enjoys pitching with a chip on her shoulder.
“I’m 5-foot-2, so there are a lot of teams who see me and think, ‘Hey, she’s gonna be easy to hit,’ or ‘She must not be very good,'” said Parney, who is in her third varsity season. “I use things like that as motivation. I don’t throw very hard, but there’s much more to being a successful pitcher than throwing hard.”
Parney, who was 18-3 with a 3.24 ERA as a junior, isn’t shy about taking her time in the circle. She often uses 15-20 seconds going through signs with her catcher to make sure she’s got every detail right.
“That mental toughness is probably Nicole’s biggest strength,” Mundelein coach Brett Wilhelm said. “She’s such a smart softball player who’s always aware of every situation, always thinking ahead. She doesn’t let difficult situations or errors drag her down. If something bothers her, she’s not gonna show it on the field. And she’s a leader. Not necessarily in a vocal way, but with her actions and especially her confidence. She always works hard and sets a great example for everyone around her.”
Mundelein is off to a slow start, but there are reasons for optimism. Sophomore catcher Peyton Pribyl saved a pair of runs against Fremd when she blocked home plate and tagged runners out on two separate plays.
Senior third baseman Karlee Busscher (4-for-4, four singles) had a perfect day at the plate and drove in both of the Mustangs’ runs. Seven of the team’s 10 hits were to right or center field.
“We’ve been emphasizing using the whole field, staying inside the ball, and driving it up the middle and the other way more often,” Busscher said. “I think we’re seeing signs those things are starting to pay off.”
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Senior shortstop Amanda Diaz (3-for-4, double), meanwhile, has adjusted well to her new role as the team’s leadoff hitter. She’d been used mainly as an outfielder and batted lower in the order a year ago.
“Throughout my three years, I’ve played a different position every year, and moved around in the order,” Diaz said. “I’ve just gotta stay confident in myself and work through any adversity that comes my way. We only have 10 girls on the team this year, and once we get a little more time under our belts as a group, I’m confident things will turn start to turn around fast.”
Tim Froehlig is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @TFroehlig