Trinity Softball pitcher Kaci Wellik was recently awarded the honor of SCAC pitcher of the week for the eighth week of competition. Wellik was given this honor namely for her performance against Schreiner University where the Tigers swept their opponent with scores of 1-0 and 13-1. In the first game on Friday night, Wellik nearly tied the school record for most strikeouts in a single game as she fanned out 15 batters, while only allowing seven hits throughout the 11 innings and not walking a single batter.
On the next day, Wellik continued her drive and did not allow Schreiner to score for the first five innings. Over the course of five innings, she only allowed five hits and one walk.
Wellik mentioned that being pitcher of the week was not the only honor the team has received as many of her teammates achieved weekly accolades in their positions.
“It goes to show how strong of a team we are and how well we are competing within our conference,” Wellik said.
She also told the Trinitonian that after the near-record game on Friday, she was “absolutely ecstatic” not only about winning the game, but also about finding out that she broke her personal strikeout record.
“One of my teammates pulled me aside to tell me, and I literally jumped up and down in excitement. I was proud of myself for pushing through all eleven innings, and the win made everything worth it,” Wellik said.
Even though Wellik was given the honor of Pitcher of the Week, her performance on the mound was not the only highlight, for her efforts at the plate were also duly noted. In the first game of the series, she recorded a near-record amount of strikeouts, and drove in the winning run via sacrifice fly. In the game after, she also hit a crushing solo home run and scored three of the team’s runs.
When Wellik was being recruited, she wanted to be a part of a team where she would be able to excel in both pitching and batting. This was “an important factor” in choosing which program she would spend four years playing in.
“I’m very thankful to be at Trinity where I can be successful as both a pitcher and a hitter,” Wellik said.
When asked about the key to her success as a pitcher, she emphasized that in games, it was best to not think too much and just pitch, for such thinking belonged in practice.
“During pitching practice, that’s when I think and work on my form so that I can get on the mound in a game and rely on muscle memory and not have to think,” Wellik said. “During games, sometimes I’ll tell myself little reminders if I’m struggling with a certain pitch or I’ll tell myself “˜not too fine’ when I’m ahead in the count, but other than that, I try to let my mind go blank and do my thing.”
Moving forward, Wellik believed that the team is going nowhere but up. She also stressed the need for the team to keep up the work it has been doing in order for it to not only finish on a solid note but also to prepare for and excel at the SCAC Softball Championships.
“I have been so proud of my team this year. We are strong defensively, offensively, and our pitching staff complements one another,” Wellik said. “Our goal is to stay strong through our last two regular season series’ and begin the conference tournament on a high. There, we will just need to take everything one game at a time and not under or overestimate our competitors and just play the very best softball we can.”
Wellik and the Tiger softball team are second in their conference behind Texas Lutheran by a few games. The team will engage in a four-game series this weekend against SCAC rival Austin College. Two of the games will be played on Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. while the other two will be played on Sunday at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. They will play at Trinity and is the final home series for the Tiger softball team. Before the end of the regular season, the team will travel to Seguin and face the conference-leading Texas Lutheran.
