Indiana University Athletics
Healthy Again, Kirk Finds Her Stride
4/21/2016 10:21:00 AM | Softball
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Emily Kirk appears to have found her stride.
The sophomore pitcher out of Round Rock, Texas, pitched six innings and allowed just one run in Indiana's 7-1 win against Ball State Wednesday to pick up her third win in her last three starts.
The dominant outing continued a strong 12-day stretch of pitching that's seen Kirk allow just six runs over 24.1 innings of work. In less than two weeks, Kirk has nearly doubled her career innings pitched after missing virtually all of last season with a torn ACL suffered the second week of the season and now leads IU's pitching staff with a 3.31 ERA.
"I absolutely love it," head coach Michelle Gardner said. "She's just really stepped up."
Kirk's return to the circle has been a process of more than a year in the making.
She wasn't cleared by team doctors until January and had been struggling to get her rhythm going in the early stages of the season. Just a couple of weeks ago, Gardner held Kirk out of what was supposed to be a start because of the lingering effects of her ACL tear as a precaution.
Healthy and confident again, Kirk is pitching as well as she has since high school and isn't exactly sure why. She said she's gotten better movement out of her pitches lately and has been able to hit the corners, pitch to contact and let the defense behind her do the rest of the work.
"It's the small things," Kirk said. "I guess they've built up into big things."
Although she's technically the veteran on a staff that also includes freshmen Tara Trainer and Josie Wood, Kirk said she still feels like a freshman in her second season and is learning just as much as the true freshmen along the way.
Unlike her counterparts in the circle, Kirk doesn't try to blow by opposing batters. She's struck out just 18 batters over 42.1 innings this season, four of which came Wednesday night against the Cardinals.
Instead of looking for swings and misses, Kirk pitches to contact. She's methodical, wasting little time between batters. By the time her catcher fires the ball back to the circle, she's practically set to rifle it back in.
Kirk's pitching style makes her susceptible to getting into a rhythm and cruising just like she was against the Cardinals. After allowing a run in the top of the first, she settled in to keep Ball State scoreless over the next five innings before handing the ball over to Wood to close out a game Gardner said was about as complete as IU has had this season.
"My strength is to keep the ball down to just get them to swing and get little dinker hits," Kirk said. "I've never been a strikeout pitcher. I always rely on my defense, and we have a great defense so I have no problem hitting that corner and getting a dribbler."
Having a healthy Kirk adds another dimension to a Hoosier staff that's leaned on Trainer and Wood early and often this season. With three potential starters with different styles between them, Gardner has more flexibility to mix and match pitching combinations all while preserving arms.
"I feel very confident in my pitching staff right now," Gardner said.
At a time Indiana needed someone to take control in the circle, Kirk has answered the call.
She said she's playing with confidence that's only building with the wins rolling in and the season winding down. Everything at this point and beyond is new to her, but she doesn't want the momentum she's finally been able to build to stop any time soon.
"I love it," Kirk said. "Just don't jinx it."
