Andrean coach Glenn Eisfelder marveled at the accomplishments of junior Abbey Bond, particularly given her relative lack of height.
“She’s all of 5-foot, but she takes great pride in what she does and works extremely hard at it,” Eisfelder said. “She’s a tough little bulldog.
“We talk about core strength, and she has really good core strength. She’s worked very hard at that. She drives off the mound with her legs and generates as much power as she can coming off that pitching plate. She can put pitches wherever she wants most of the time.”
The time is now for Bond, the 2023 Post-Tribune Softball Player of the Year, and Andrean. The ace right-hander, with no seniors among her teammates, pitched the 59ers (29-8) to the Class 2A state championship game, where they lost in a tense matchup against North Posey on June 9.
“It was an awesome experience for our team,” Bond said. “Last year not even making it out of sectionals to making it to state, it was great. You never want to lose, but we have a young team, all the same people coming back, so it’s good for us.
“I live for pitching in games like that. I love it.”
The Purdue Northwest commit went 21-4 with a 1.13 ERA. She had 246 strikeouts and 44 walks in 160 ? innings. She also hit .284 with a homer, 24 RBIs and nine stolen bases.
Munster coach Jill Perez described Bond’s season as “dominating.”
“Keeping batters off balance was key for me,” Bond said. “I mixed all my pitches. Coach Miranda (Elish) did a great job calling pitches.”
Eisfelder appreciated what Bond meant to the 59ers.
“Without her, we don’t have the season we just had,” he said. “Every time she pitched, she kept us in every ballgame. She gave us an opportunity to come through and come out with a victory.
“Her leadership was second to none. If somebody made a mistake, she picked them up. She’d say, ‘Go get the next one.'”
Bond has been an impact player since she was a freshman, enjoying success from the outset of her career.
But she made strides pitching inside this season and expanded her repertoire, trusting her pitches across counts and situations. She also pointed to the confidence she had in the 59ers’ defense and their offense to score runs, which allowed her to pitch freely.
“I had high expectations for myself, but I still was a little surprised how I did,” Bond said. “I try not to put too much pressure on myself and just do what I can do. Being a junior, being older, having more experience, that helped.”
It took Bond a little while to gain a significant amount of pitching experience.
“I feel like I’ve grown a lot,” she said. “I’ve worked really hard for everything I’ve gotten. On my travel team, I never was the best pitcher. I mostly played infield. But in 14U, it clicked. I started throwing a lot and pitching a lot. I was really good at it, spinning the ball, and they couldn’t hit me as well. That’s when I fell in love with pitching.
“Not being tall, I’ve had to work for everything. Nothing came easy. Once I was getting the opportunity, I never let it go. I knew I’d get the opportunity. Once I got it, I never let it go. I love pitching so much.”
