Speed and spin: dynamic pitching duo leads softball to winning season

Chapman’s softball team caps off their March 11 home game with another win, bringing their overall record to 15-2. As of March 15, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association ranks The Panthers 20th in the nation.. SIMRAH AHMAD, Staff Photographer

New additions this season to Chapman’s softball team have the Panthers at the top of the standings for the Southern California Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) with a 6-0 conference record. 

Jillian Kelly, a freshman integrated educational studies major, has earned herself three Pitcher of the Week titles. Kelly and sophomore health sciences major Simi Lauwers — two underclassmen — led the team to a 14-game win streak to start off the season. 

“When you have a freshman and sophomore and they just work so well together, like they said… a lefty (Kelly) and a righty (Simi Lauwers), we call it speed versus spin,” head coach Janet Lloyd told The Panther. ‘(Lauwers) is more of a spin pitcher and she gets a lot of movement in her balls, where (Kelly) is just going to fire it by you and blow you away.”

The two pitchers strategize with their varying techniques, knowing when each would be best to face a certain opponent. 

“I think our styles are pretty different; the fact that she is left-handed and I am right-handed — that does benefit us a lot,” Simi Lauwers said. “Since we are so different, we are able to work really well together, so when we face teams, they are getting a new (style) each time.”

Simi Lauwers, an awarded Pitcher of the Week herself, got a taste of what it was like to compete on the team last year, but only for an abbreviated season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Getting to play with her sister — Rani Lauwers, a senior mathematics major — and connect with other returners has been important not only to winning but also in building team chemistry. 

“The pandemic did really help (the team) bond,” Simi Lauwers said. “Last year, when everything was online, the only social interaction we got was being at practice with each other.”

Simi Lauwers added that she credits the team’s closeness to each teammate’s dedication and positive attitude.

On top of their strong friendships , the team’s hard work during preseason contributed to their seamless incorporation of first-year players.  

“Our fall season was pretty strong; for some of us it was the first time playing in a while, but it got us really excited and we all work really well together,” Kelly said. “We have a lot of freshmen, but I feel like we all came together and learned to work well together.” 

Lloyd has been a part of Chapman’s softball program for 37 years now and sees the potential that this year’s team has to win big this season. The head coach compared this season’s team to the team that brought home the NCAA Division III Softball Championship title in 1995. 

“We won a national championship, we’ve had the highest GPA in the nation twice out of 415 teams (and) our goal as coaches is to do that in the same year,” Lloyd said.  

The program has a supporting cast of three volunteer coaches and assistant coach Suzy Brazney, all of whom invest in the team’s strength and technical skills. 

The coaches aren’t the only ones with championship dreams. Players have their sights set on winning the title and have been scouting other teams to prepare for competitions, according to Lloyd. 

“I got freshmen (and players) watching other teams … they have kind of taken it among themselves that they wanna be National Champions, they are doing things that we haven’t even asked them to do, which is awesome,” Lloyd said.  

The right handed power pitcher agrees there is an ambitious attitude team-wide, and their dream of reaching the top isn’t out of sight. 

“I feel like everybody (on the team) has that confidence that we are going to win,” Kelly said assuredly. “We are going to go to nationals and win that too — that’s our goal.”

The team suffered their first loss of the season at a March 12 game against Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Based on their current standings, the loss is just a minor setback in The Panthers’ greater objective of getting a top conference spot. 

Chapman’s softball team will play Westcliff University today (March 17) and is looking to sustain their top conference spot through the season.