Karsyn with a K

The best way to alleviate stress in a softball team is to have the pitcher strike out as many batters as possible.

Karsyn McGlothen has been providing a lot of stress relief for St. Marys this season.

The Roughrider senior has been striking out opposing batters with hearty regularity as St. Marys has started the season with a 7-2 record.

"It's definitely a mindset," said McGlothen. "You have to look at the batter and think 'Oh, I get this strikeout, it motivates the team.' I think if I'm doing my part, the team is thinking 'She's got it.'

"Not like they don't have to worry about what they have to do, but they have that security and confidence to play and win games. It takes stress off of everybody."

In 55 innings this season, McGlothen has 95 strikeouts and has started the season with a 6-2 record and a 1.15 ERA.

For McGlothen, the drive to strike out batters is part of the larger team goal, to improve on last season's 14-11 season that resulted in the program's first district final appearance since the 2007 season - a year that ended with the team as Division II state runner-up.

McGlothen was 12-9 with a 2.49 ERA and 191 strikeouts in 2021. The run to the district final, where St. Marys lost to Shawnee, was a perfect motivator for this season.

"Last year, I was really impressed how far we went," said McGlothen. "It was a confidence booster for everyone, not just me. The junior class especially wanted to work hard and get ourselves ready for next year. We thought, 'Maybe we're better than everyone thought we were.' Now, our goal this year is to get farther than last year. I think we're pretty well on track."

The work began in the summer as she worked with her travel team based out of the Bellefontaine area.

"We had tournaments every weekend during the summer. We traveled to Alabama, Michigan, Florida and West Virginia," said McGlothen. "I also have a pitching coach I see every week."

While being known as one of the hardest throwers in the region, McGlothen focused on other aspects of pitching to get ready for the season.

"This year, I worked on movement (of the ball) the most," said McGlothen, who is also batting .381 with three home runs and eight RBI this season. "I knew I had the speed. If I kept pitching, that would keep coming naturally. I worked on movement. I think it's definitely paid off so far this season."

So far, that plan has paid off.

After striking out six batters in the season-opening win over Parkway on March 29, the punchouts have come quickly. On March 31, she broke the school record by striking out 18 Bowling Green batters, a game that the Roughriders lost 9-0 as they were limited to two hits. One night later, she struck out 13 against New Bremen, then fanned 17 Bluffton batters the next afternoon.

The K-parade continued with strikeout totals of 10, nine, 11 and 11 in her last four games.

McGlothen is hoping to continue her game on the college level, but right now is weighing her opportunities.

"I have a few options, but I'm not completely sure who I want to go with," said McGlothen.