It probably wouldn’t have mattered to Providence’s Nicole Mucha what the result was in her first at-bat Tuesday.
She was swinging the bat in a game for the first time in 12 days. That was good news in itself.
But a sharp single up the middle?
“That felt really good,” Mucha said, smiling. “I did not like sitting. It was exciting to be back.”
The Monmouth recruit made solid contact in all three at-bats. She also pitched a perfect inning in relief as the host Celtics lost 5-3 to Loyola in a GCAC Red game.
Allysa Ibarra and Grace Golebiowski each had RBI singles for Providence (10-14, 5-4). Nicole Magdziasz went 3-for-4 with a run.
Mackenzie Barry struck out six and allowed six hits for Loyola (12-6, 7-2).
Mucha has known frustration in the long term and short term during her time at Providence.
An infielder by trade, she was an effective pitcher as a sophomore for the Celtics, posting a 7-1 record and three saves. In February 2020, she committed to Monmouth.
Then came COVID-19.
“I was down,” Mucha said. “I just practiced a lot. Me and my dad hit a lot. We were just hoping we’d be able to play soon.
“And then fall came and I was excited. I played a full schedule for my travel team.”
Mucha was off to a good start this season when she suffered a strained oblique.
“I was pitching and my side just started hurting,” Mucha said. “I went to the trainer, and they told me to take some time off and see how I feel. I’ve just been taking it slow.”
Mucha entered Tuesday’s game batting .333 with seven doubles and 12 RBIs. Most impressively, she was hitting .529 with runners in scoring position.
“I usually swing at it super hard on the first and second pitch,” Mucha said. “I do that until I have two strikes, then I make sure I put it in play.”
Providence coach Jay Biesterfeld chalked it up to hitting smarts.
“Nicole is just a kid who knows the situation,” Biesterfeld said. “She understands and doesn’t try to do too much when she gets in that spot.
“She looks to just make good, solid contact and try to drive to the outfield. Especially with the speed in front of her, she knows they are all capable of taking two bases on any kind of hit.”
Despite not having pitched in 22 months, Mucha has five wins with 35 strikeouts in 39 ? innings.
“It was different,” Mucha said. “I was rusty at first, but it came back.”
Mucha pitches alongside the freshman duo of Abby Johnson and Golebiowski. She provides senior experience, and according to Johnson, moral support.
“When I started out the season, my first game, I had a really rough outing,” Johnson said. “It was a nice feeling to have her come up to me and say, ‘That happened to me, too. You just have to keep going.'”
The support is mutual.
“The freshmen taught me a little bit about pitching,” Johnson said. “I had lost my screwball. It wasn’t as good as before. They showed me their spins. Actually, Grace taught me her change-up and I’ve been using that.
“I really like both of them. They work hard.”
Mucha, meanwhile, is living large as a senior leader — albeit with a calm tone.
“She just brings the best out of all of the other kids,” Biesterfeld said. “She never lets anyone get too worked up about mistakes. She is always there supporting her teammates.
“It’s a quiet confidence she has. She’s not a big rah-rah person, but she still talks to the kids. Everybody can see from her body language she has confidence that we can go out and perform and she is going to go out and perform.”
