After a lackluster postseason performance last year, sophomore hurler Lauren Delaney went back to the drawing board.
And hitters across the country have suffered for it.
This season, Delaney has emerged from the shadow of Northwestern pitching legend Eileen Canney and became the Big Ten’s most dominant pitcher.
“Lauren Delaney is in the headline after every game,” junior catcher Erin Dyer said. “She throws the ball so hard and she’s got four or five pitches in her toolbox. So she’s a tough pitcher to hit against.”
Though Delaney had a successful freshman season, she faltered in her first and only postseason appearance in 2007. She faced three Washington hitters in the College World Series and appeared overwhelmed, issuing walks to each of the batters.
The season ended two games later, and so did Canney illustrious career.
With Canney gone, Delaney became the de facto ace of the staff. She was determined to improve, completely retooling her windup during the offseason.
“I give Tori Nyberg, our pitching coach, a whole lot of credit,” coach Kate Drohan said. “She completely broke down Lauren’s mechanics and changed her delivery. So that’s really helped Lauren both with her spins and her location which have worked together very, very well this year.”
Changing the delivery of a blue-chip prospect like Delaney, who was highly recruited out of high school, is rare. But the sophomore said having the right attitude helped her in adjusting the mechanics of her throwing motion.
“It was hard when I was making the changes,” Delaney said. “But I think I went into it with a pretty open mind knowing that whatever they’re going to have me do is going to help me, even if it doesn’t show in the first week or the first month.”
Now, the 6-foot Delaney steps back, almost takes a bow in front of the hitter, lifts her torso and explodes towards the plate as she releases the ball.
In addition to the new delivery, Delaney spent the offseason refining her off-speed pitches. She worked on throwing her breaking ball with more motion and accuracy to help coincide with her excellent fastball.
“Usually the third time somebody sees a hard thrower is when they have more success against them,” DePaul coach Eugene Lenti said after facing the Wildcats in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. “But now that you add the changeup to the mix that makes her a little bit tougher for everybody to hit….If she’s able to execute with the change-up, it’s going to be difficult for anyone to score runs against her.”
Delaney’s hard work has shown up in the box score this season. Heading into the Super Regional round of the tournament, Delaney has compiled some impressive numbers. The flamethrower has a 37-9 record with a 1.54 ERA and 444 strikeouts in 309 innings, tossing no-hitters on five occasions.
This year, Delaney has been named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and the Big Ten Tournament MVP, and she has won multiple conference and national pitcher of the week awards.
Even with all of these accolades, Delaney remains hungry to improve.
“My main motivation comes from the fact that our goal is still to win a national championship,” she said. “No matter how many of those awards I get, that’s not going to change. Until we win (a championship), there’s always something that can be improved upon.”
Three postseason victories later, it is clear Delaney’s improvements have paid off.
