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Too much of a good thing?
Not a chance.
Junior pitcher Nicole Stone is growing up fast on the varsity for a loaded Oswego East staff that appears to be an embarrassment of riches.
That assessment won’t come from coach Sara Davies-Dymanus, however.
Her talented group of five could give the Wolves a leg up in the arms race among contenders for the Southwest Prairie West title, but it’s much too soon to make that call.
“Nicole’s velocity increased insanely from her freshman to sophomore year, so we pulled her up last season,” Davies-Dymanus said. “She had also grown like four inches.
“She was our No. 3 most of the season before moving up to No. 2.”
Stone looked the part Tuesday, teaming up with senior ace Kenzie Gatz to throw a two-hitter in a 5-0 win over visiting West Aurora. It was the conference opener for both teams.
Stone started and threw three no-hit innings against the Blackhawks (3-3, 0-1). She gave up one-out singles to Katelyn Serafin and Ionicca Rivera in the fourth but escaped further trouble for Oswego East (6-3, 1-0).
After hitting batters before and after an error with one out, Stone also escaped a jam in the first inning.
“Freshman year wasn’t my best pitching year,” Stone said. “I switched coaches and changed my windup a little bit. I also came back super tall. That helped me gain mph.
“Freshman year, I was around 55 mph, but midseason last year, I was hitting 60 consistently.”
The 5-foot-9 Stone also had another growth spurt.
“Now she’s taller than me,” said Gatz, a St. Mary Minnesota recruit who finished Tuesday’s game by design.
Neither had pitched since the team’s spring break trip to Tennessee two weeks ago.
They’re joined on the staff by junior Tristin Hyland and college recruits Emma Lenczewski (Elmhurst) and Jenna Borgstrom (Waubonsee), a pair of seniors.
In the first inning, RBI singles from Mary Kate Quaid, Gatz and Hyland staked Stone to a quick 3-0 lead.
Gatz entered in the fifth, but an error and two walks loaded the bases with two outs. West Aurora pitcher Alyssa Perkins drew one of those walks with a 12-pitch at-bat.
“What an at-bat,” Davies-Dymanus said. “That’s a great mindset, resilience, all that.
“Kenzie will be our No. 1. She has the experience and composure, and her and (catcher) May Pasqualini are a dynamic duo, really. They pitch and catch for travel too, so they’ve been together forever.”
Gatz worked Serafin to a 3-2 count after Perkins’ walk and escaped with a called third strike.
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“That was stressful,” Gatz said. “You have to keep a strong mindset and not get too much in your head because then I’ll throw one past my catcher and the runner on third scores.
“I just have to stay confident, stay positive in my pitches and know my defense can back me up. If they happen to get a hit, we’re still in the lead. We had three runs at the time.”
Perkins retired 10 straight in one stretch, but the Wolves added two insurance runs in their half of the fifth, highlighted by doubles from Finley Anderson and Ronnie Craft and Pasqualini’s RBI single.
“I love having five pitchers because I know I’m not going to get overused,” Gatz said. “Perkins had us for a little bit there. She spins the ball really well.”
Stone, meanwhile, hopes for more growth — figuratively and literally. An extra inch or two of height could add even more speed to her fastball.
“It’s good to have a deep roster,” Stone said. “I know if I’m not having my best day, any one of our other pitchers can come in and have my back. I can trust them all.
“Everyone is super supportive. I think we all kind of get it.”
