The line of talented Marist pitchers over the past several seasons has been a long one.
Next up? Senior right-hander Brooke McNichols.
And, boy, is she ready.
“I feel awesome,” McNichols said. “I’m super excited because I have such amazing footsteps to follow in Abby Dunning. She really helped me.
“I learned from her and now I can do what she did last season.”
McNichols was on top of her game Monday in a 12-2 nonconference victory over Andrew.
Kait Wright and Sierra Sass had four hits each for host Marist (2-0). Eileen Donahue added three hits and two RBIs.
Hailey Morsovillo and Madison Hanik each had two hits for Andrew (0-2).
McNichols, a Florida International recruit, pitched five innings. She allowed two hits while striking out six.
The offensive support for McNichols was in abundance. The RedHawks raked for 17 hits. Wright, a St. Xavier recruit, had a double and three singles and scored four times.
“We’re seeing the ball really well,” Wright said. “And we definitely have hitting that’s contagious. When one person gets a hit, we all get a hit.
“It’s collective hitting. We’re all good with each other, we trust each other and we pick each other up.”
Wright hit .446 last season for the Class 4A state champion RedHawks. In two games this season, she has six hits, six runs and two RBIs.
“As we say on the back of our practice shirts, we want to defend the name,” Wright said. “As a senior, I want to be a leader. I want to show the other girls that we can build off one another.
“I really want our team to have as much success and as much fun as we had last year.”
McNichols, meanwhile, is picking up where Dunning left off.
Dunning, now a freshman at Boston College, was the 2022 Daily Southtown Softball Player of the Year. But McNichols made the most of her own pitching opportunities, going 9-0 with 111 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings.
“It was a learning experience,” McNichols said. “I got to learn from Abby and coach (Colleen) Phelan. It was my first official year on the varsity because of COVID-19 my sophomore year, so I had to get a feeling for the coaching, the pitch calling and all of my catchers, especially Emily Bojan.
“I had never worked with her before and we created a really, really close bond, which I think is going to help us this season.”
McNichols was in the dugout, at the ready, during the Class 4A championship game against Lincoln-Way Central while Dunning was suffering from dehydration and arm cramps.
Marist won that game 3-1. Dunning was carried off the field after the final out.
“That was scary,” McNichols said. “I was there for her, but obviously I wanted her to finish the game because it was her senior year and her state championship.
“I knew I could do it, but I was super nervous knowing I’d have to go in if she got taken out. I was just hoping she was going to be OK. I’m happy it ended the way it did.”
McNichols started out the 2022 season March 16 with a five-inning no-hitter in a 10-0 win against Shepard. She struck out the first four batters, finished with eight strikeouts and allowed just one base runner on a walk.
She obviously learned a lot. At least Bojan thinks so.
“Brooke’s improvement from last season is definitely noticeable,” Bojan said. “Her ball just moves — has so much spin on it. I think that’s what makes her so successful.
“When she’s pitching, she’s all business. I try to crack a smile on her sometimes, but she’s bad to the bone, honestly. I have so much confidence in her and she really has confidence in herself.”
