PENDLETON — Morgan Bricker found herself shaking in the dugout between innings against Mt. Vernon on May 7. The Pendleton Heights senior pitcher chalked it up to adrenaline, likening it to how she felt during her first start of the season against Center Grove back on March 31.
“I was like, I should not be having this twice in one season,” she laughed Wednesday. “But it did happen. … (And) I don’t know, it kind of motivated me to keep going.”
To be fair, that appearance against Mt. Vernon was Bricker’s first since April 2 when she injured her knee one batter into an eventual 7-3 loss to Westfield. And in her return to the circle, she held the Arabians’ sectional rival to zero runs on two hits in three innings of work.
A week later, Bricker started against New Palestine. That was a big one, she said, a tone setter. The hurler recognized the level of competition coming in and following a “really, really bad” inning against the Dragons last season, she was determined to “show out.”
Bricker went eight innings, allowing two unearned runs on eight hits with a couple strikeouts and a walk in the 3-2 win.
“It definitely (built my confidence) knowing that I can pitch to that level,” she said. “They’re a super good team, on the same level that I’m going to see the rest of the season. So knowing I can pitch to them and get them to hit it where I want it to be placed was a big benefit for me.”
Bricker has been as good or better ever since.
She has not allowed an earned run in five consecutive starts and posted three straight shutouts, most recently a five-inning two-hitter vs. Lawrence North in Tuesday’s regional championship, during which she struck out nine, matching her career-high from the game before (4-0 vs. Mt. Vernon).
Bricker has been on fire and her efforts have the surging Arabians (17-13) two wins away from their first semistate championship in program history.
“She’s fooling the hitters, making them guess a lot and getting us the weak ground balls and pop flies we need to make plays on in the field,” junior infielder Aubrey Fox said.
“We’ve seen a lot of competitiveness from Morgan since she returned,” senior Avry Miller adde. “She’s going to take every moment and make the best of it.”
Bricker feared her season might be over when she slipped on the Westfield turf and her right knee gave out. She was only seven pitches into her second appearance of the spring and had allowed five runs (all earned) on nine hits in three innings in her previous start vs. Center Grove.
“That was definitely not my best outing,” Bricker said of her season debut. “I was like, there’s no way that can be my last game.”
Fortunately, an MRI the next day revealed a strained MCL. Bricker faced a six-week recovery consisting of physical therapy and rest, but she would be back in time for the final couple weeks of the regular season.
While her teammates grinded through a jam-packed, injury-riddled month of April, Bricker focused on getting herself back, building up from basic exercises and squats to running and eventually weightlifting.
It was a little uncomfortable at first, she said, but she could feel herself getting stronger. “That was super nice and it motivated me to keep going.”
“It helped knowing I still had time to come back and I was still part of the team,” Bricker later added. “I tracked pitches (from the dugout) and was cheering the entire time. It was an opportunity to be happy and help the team mentally.”
Her constant positivity paired well with coach Rob Davis’ unwavering confidence in his team, even as they slipped to 6-10 with a winless three-game run at the Carmel Invite.
An end-of-April win over Noblesville breathed new life into the Arabians, then Bricker’s return a week later helped set them on their current course, one which has seen them win eight of their past nine entering Saturday.
The senior came back stronger, Davis said, noting an increased velocity they hadn’t seen earlier in the year.
“That was the big thing we wanted her to add,” he continued. “We knew she had it, but she didn’t show it game-in and game-out. … She throws hard enough to cause you problems, then hitting her spots is the biggest thing we have going on now.”
For her part, Bricker felt everything start clicking in with the sectional opener against Greenfield-Central. Her speed was there and she was hitting her spots as she struck out five and allowed only one hit across seven scoreless.
“I knew I could keep going, so I just kept pushing myself,” she said. “It felt nice being back at this level.”
Pendleton Heights plays No. 10 Terre Haute North (28-1) at 11 a.m. Saturday in Bedford. The winner advances to face either No. 5 Center Grove or No. 13 Castle (23-6-1).
Fueled by 2025 state runner-up finish, red-hot Center Grove returns to semistate
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Bricker a rock on mound for surging semistate-bound Pendleton Heights’ softball
Reporting by Brian Haenchen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Brian Haenchen, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
