French: With Wins Record, Weigman Elite in UMBC Softball History

At this time in 2010, UMBC softball pitcher Stephanie Weigman had already allowed 10 runs in seven innings to Stony Brook in the Retrievers’ opening America East Conference series.

What a difference one year makes.

Weigman (10-7, 3.21 ERA), who said she has learned to better control her emotions when things go wrong for her on the pitching rubber, beat the Seawolves twice over the weekend. Sunday, she became UMBC’s all-time leader in wins with 58, breaking the record held by Lauren Nicholson.

For Weigman, who is also the Retrievers’ all-time leader in strikeouts with more than 700 in the books and counting, 2011 is the complete opposite of 2010.

“I came out with a really bad first conference weekend (last season), and I think I was just nervous that was going to happen to me (again),” Weigman said. “After the first weekend, the confidence was down a lot.

“I’ve been able to improve mentally. If they get a hit, it’s not the end of the game, I’m going to come back from it. That’s the difference between last year and this year. I’ve really improved mentally.”

UMBC coach Joe French, who gave the senior her fair share of starts even early in her career when she was more of a “thrower” than a pitcher, said hard work has made the senior one of the great hurlers in school history.

“One, she wants the ball anytime you give it to her. And two, she is a well-conditioned athlete—she takes care of herself,” French said. “It’s not just going out and throwing under pressure. She’s always on the treadmill or the bike.

"You know, your lower half as a pitcher is just as important as the arm. A pitcher that doesn’t have their bottom half isn’t as successful.”

French sees some similarities between Weigman and the pitcher whose record she just broke.

“I think they both came in as these power pitch throwers, and now you can take the thrower off, they’re pitchers,” French said. “Inside, outside, out of the zone, up in the zone. That’s what separates the good ones from the really, really good ones.”

And Weigman, with the wins record under her belt, sounded like she had indeed regained what confidence she lost in 2010.

"You just try as hard as you can," she said. "Me trying as hard as I can is hopefully better than their batters."

Now, to this week’s list:

Quote of the Week: “Even if we had come home today with a good game and a loss, you win the series, but by winning all three, especially with the way we hit the ball today … to me, that’s showing the character of a team starting to develop.” –UMBC softball coach Joe French after his team swept conference rival Stony Brook in a weekend series.

Line of the Week:  CG, 1 R, 1 ER, 8 H, 5 K, 0 BB on 100 pitches – UMBC baseball starting pitcher Austin Drewyer, who pitched a masterpiece to Sunday.

Top Tweet: “Sara Parkinson breaks the 5k school record with a time of 17:04.22” –@umbcxctf, UMBC cross country after the senior added her name to the top of the Retriever record book in the women’s 5,000 meter run.

For the Record: UMBC softball pitcher Stephanie Weigman has won more games than any softball pitcher in school history, 58, after beating Stony Brook 6-1 Sunday.

Player to Watch: UMBC first baseman Max Himmelstein went 2-for-4 with two RBI in a Sunday, and is leading the team in hitting with a .359 batting average in 64 at-bats.

Game to Watch: UMBC men’s lacrosse plays Towson at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 6 at UMBC Stadium. The game offers the Retrievers their last chance to tune up before closing the season with four straight America East Conference opponents.