Five distinct pitches seemed to be sufficient for junior Gabby McBride. “I figured I could get people out with those,” McBride said.
Sadly, those five weren’t enough. Between her freshman and sophomore seasons, McBride decided to add another pitch to her roster. A rise ball was added, which was the difference maker.
“The development of the rise ball was huge,” Coach Darin Scott said.
In her second season, McBride transformed from a sub-.500 pitcher with an ERA over four runs per game to a dominant powerhouse. For the first time in two decades, the Flyers became a state contender. Last year, Lindbergh advanced to the state quarterfinal stage before losing to Marquette by 1-0. After posting a 7-10 record with a 4.38 ERA as a freshman, McBride made an astounding turnaround this past fall. In 108+ innings, she struck out 74 batters. Last fall, McBride built a 19-7 record and a 1.38 ERA with her new pitch. She also struck out 263 hitters in 168 innings, a new school record for a single season. Overall, McBride struck out at a rate of 11 times per game, with three games having at least 15 strikeouts.
In a 2-1 victory over Seckman, McBride attracted attention with a performance of 17 strikeouts. A little over a week later, the Flyers defeated Parkway South, who had advanced to the state tournament the year before, 7-1 while fanning 15 batters. In each of her final nine outings from the previous season, McBride struck out at least 10 batters. In a 3-2 victory over Oakville, she struck out 11, giving the Flyers their first district title in 18 years. With another successful season this time around, McBride will be on the fast track to being an NCAA Division I prospect.
“The fact that no one really expected it out of us, that’s what made it so great,” McBride said. “We just showed up and beat a lot of teams that we didn’t expect to beat. It was fun to watch and fun to experience.”
McBride enters the circle with a professional demeanor. She never laughs and maintains her composure in any circumstance.
“I’ll be happy and I’ll be celebrating in my head,” McBride said. “But not where people can see it. Then, sometimes when I get into the dugout, I’ll yell a little.”
This fall, she sees no impediment to continuing it.
“Before we kind of snuck up on teams and we won’t be able to do that this time,” McBride said. “But now we’ve got confidence. We know what we’re capable of doing.”
