Columbus East softball coach Rusty Brummett went into this season with the idea of using both junior Brooke Valles and sophomore Jordan Johnston as pitchers in most games.
That’s what Brummett did often last season, when the Olympians went 14-11 to post their first winning season in more than 10 years. But with Valles and Johnston getting stronger this season, they’ve been able to alternate starts and finish most games without needing relief help.
“What I kind of wanted to do is maybe rotate starts and then split innings,” Brummett said. “We were able to do that the first game with Bloomington South, but after that, we’ve kind of just fallen into, these girls are well-conditioned athletes, and they’re able to pitch a full game. You don’t necessarily have to pull somebody out of the game.”
Brummett, however, plans to use both of his pitchers tonight when East visits Columbus North. The pair have combined to throw all but one inning for the Olympians this season.
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Last week, Johnston threw a complete-game one-hitter in a 1-0 win at Edinburgh. She retired the final 20 batters she faced.
Their stats are somewhat similar. Valles is 2-2 with a 2.10 ERA, with 16 strikeouts and 12 walks. Johnston is 2-3 with a 1.80 ERA, with 12 strikeouts and eight walks.
“I think it’s nice having another pitcher that you know is going to hit her spots and work just as hard as you are and put the ball across the plate where it needs to be and let the defense make plays,” Johnston said. “We just have to hit our spots and know that our defense is going to play behind us. They’ve been doing a great job this year making plays.”
Brummett said Valles is more of a power pitcher, while Johnston is better at hitting her spots.
Like Johnston, Valles credited East’s defense with helping keep the team in games.
“Our defense is really supportive of us both, so it’s more of a team thing, knowing that we have a strong defense behind us,” Valles said. “It’s more relaxing to us in the circle.”
Valles, who plays third base when she is not pitching, is battling .315 with a team-best two home runs. Johnston, who plays second base when not pitching, is hitting .308. They also play those positions, as well as pitch, for Jeremy Foster’s Indiana Dreams travel team.
The Olympians, who are currently 4-5, have a team goal of reaching at least 20 wins and a sectional title. If Valles and Johnston can get on a roll in the circle, that may be a possibility.
“Really, what that does for us long term is, we have two pitchers at full strength when you get to sectional,” Brummett said. “The teams that only have one pitcher, and they pitch them every ballgame, if I were in their shoes, I would be concerned that they’ve lost their legs by the time they get to tournament time. We’re fortunate enough that — knock on wood — if they stay healthy, they should have some legs left under them.”
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Columbus East at Columbus North softball
When: 5 p.m. today
Where: Southside Elementary
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