Softball Notebook: Olson among top pitchers in conference

The UConn softball team dominated the CCSU Blue Devils, and once again they did so thanks to the arm of Marybeth Olson.

The sophomore star pitcher is in the midst of a phenomenal season, boasting a 2.05 ERA and 131 strikeouts through 116.2 innings of work. She’s lowered her ERA almost a full run and allowed a batting average against that is 20 points lower from last season.

“I think she’s dialed in,” head coach Jen McIntyre said. “I think she’s focused. I think she’s worked really hard in the offseason and she’s a competitor when she’s out there so she’s done a really good job.”

Olson has been the most reliable pitcher for the Huskies this season, stepping up to fill a role that was needed while senior Jill Stockley was sidelined for almost a month due to injury.

Just over their past 15 games, Olson has appeared in 11 of them, two more than their next most used pitcher Katie Koshes. What makes this even more impressive is that Olson has thrown 46 innings in that span, which is 15 more than Koshes and over half of the entire team’s.

Not only has she been the best pitcher on the Huskies’ roster, but she has been one of the best pitchers in the entire conference. Her ERA ranks sixth in the American and she is one of only four pitchers with strikeouts in the triple digits. Not only that, but she has also walked the least amount of batters of anyone who has thrown over 100 innings.

After working in somewhat of a limited capacity last season — only starting in eight of her 20 appearances — she has now almost doubled her innings and become the ace of this Huskies staff.

Olson credits her success this season to what she learned in her freshman campaign.

“I think just having the experience of last year, freshman year, kind of knowing that every batter at this level is good and just learning when to throw what pitch,” Olson said.

Jorge Eckardt is a staff writer for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at jorge.eckardt@uconn.edu.