Greene’s softball team is off to one of its best starts in the program’s history, and sophomore pitcher Rebecca Hanrahan’s success mirrors that of her team.
Hanrahan struck out over 200 batters in her freshman season leading the Trojans to a MAC Division I title and an appearance in the Section IV, Class C championship game. Through the first third of this season, Hanrahan is on pace to shatter her first-season numbers, and the Trojans look every bit as good this year as the team that nearly advanced to the state tournament in 2009.
“She really has had an outstanding start to this season,” said Greene coach Rick Smith summing up his sophomore hurler’s mind-boggling achievements.
At some point, one would expect Hanrahan to slow her pace and have an off night. Contrary to that notion, Hanrahan’s seventh game – Wednesday afternoon against Unatego – may have been the best all-around five-inning performance by a single player in Section IV this season.
At the plate, Hanrahan was 3-for-3 with two home runs, a triple, and a career-high eight RBI. On the mound, she pitched her second no-hitter of the season and fifth of her varsity career. She fanned 10, did not walk a batter, and was a catcher’s interference call away from a perfect game.
Hanrahan’s early-season dominance as a pitcher and hitter has garnered our honor as Evening Sun/Smith Ford LLC Athlete of the Week.
“I think she’s a lot more complete as a pitcher this year,” Smith said. “Last year she threw a lot of fastballs, and she was able to get away with it because people didn’t know her. This year she has four solid pitches – a fastball, a changeup, a curveball, and a drop.”
Hanrahan has transformed from a power pitcher to a thinking man’s pitcher looking for the best way to get a particular player out. She has a new comfort zone, Smith said, and for the first time, actually shook off one of Smith’s called pitches from the dugout. “It’s a maturing thing for her,” Smith said. “She’s thinking things through with each batter. If she’s not comfortable with my sign, I want her to shake it off. She’s doing that now.”
Hanrahan recently passed 300 strikeouts for her career, and when Smith presented her with a game ball for her feat, Hanrahan was completely unaware of her accomplishment. “She still has that innocence about her, and she truly is just focused on the next batter and getting the next out. She doesn’t care about statistics at all,” Smith said. “She has that great work ethic, and I think that is something that has to rub off on the rest of her teammates.”
Hanrahan has upgraded not only her pitching from last year (she has a. 0.45 earned run average and just 13 hits allowed in 47 innings), but has made monster strides at the plate.
As a freshman, Hanrahan occasionally dipped her shoulders at the plate, and lacked some consistency. This season, that glitch in her swing is gone, and she is literally tearing the cover off the softball. She is batting a robust .609 (14-for-23) to lead Greene, and has a team-high three homers, 15 RBI, and 14 runs scored. “Her focus at the plate is as much as it is on the rubber when she’s pitching,” Smith said. “She takes her hitting seriously, and she works as hard at hitting as she does with her pitching.”
Hanrahan’s improvements are lofty indeed, and with the tall 15-year-old Trojans hurler on the mound, the Trojans are a legitimate threat for any and all remaining postseason championships.