The Erb Report

Over the last few years, I’ve had a lot of people ask me about Lock Haven’s all-American pitcher Kristin Erb. The junior pitcher has been one of Division II’s best pitchers over the last three seasons and the Golden Bears will need to beat her if they have plans of competing on the national level this season. I did some research and this is the statistics of the current KU roster against Erb since her arrival at LHU in 2006. This is a combination of statistics from seven meetings between the two teams, including three this season. In 2006, the teams met once during the PSAC playoffs. In 2007, they met three times, all of which were PSAC playoff games. This season, they’ve met three times, which includes two regular season contests and one PSAC playoff game.

Provided is KU’s players and each athletes numbers against Erb.

Probable Batting Order:
[Hits At-bats (Avg.) Runs RBIs Strikeouts (On-base%)]
1. 2B – Kim Morrison 7-for-24 (.292) 1 0 1 (.292)
2. LF – Maria Schiavo 3-for-20 (.150) 2 2 1 (.150)
3. 1B – Steph Denlinger 6-for-22 (.273) 4 2 5 (.360)
4. CA – Ashley Fitzgerald 5-for-23 (.217) 0 0 1 (.217)
5. 3B – Krista Cameron 3-for-24 (.125) 3 4 3 (.125)
6. DP – Caitlin Hague 2-for-14 (.143) 0 0 5 (.143)
7. SS – Krista Tedjeske 1-for-6 (.167) 0 0 3 (.167)
8. RF – Maggie Reifsnyder 0-for 4 (.000) 1 0 2 (.000)
9. CF – Kathy Gregg 5-for-19 (.263) 1 2 4 (.263)

Bench:
OF – Angela Domenici 0-for-2 (.000) 0 0 2 (.000)

Pitching (vs. LHU):
Kait Arbogast (1-3 3.28 ERA), 4 games, 35.2 IP, 33 H, 13 ER, 8 BB, 30 K, 1.15 WHIP
Monica Glomb (0-1 16.88 ERA), 1 game, 2.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 3.00 WHIP
Mary Hoch (0-0 81.00 ERA), 1 game, 0.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 15.00 WHIP
Lauren Doering (0-0 0.00 ERA), 1 game, 2 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 0 K, 4.00 WHIP

As you can see, Erb has done quite a number on KU, falling to the Golden Bears only once in seven tries. Kim Morrison, Steph Denlinger, and Kathy Gregg have had some success against her and it might be smart for some of the other players to talk to them about how they handle at-bats against Erb.

One thing I’ve noticed is Morrison’s approach, which I believe Gregg utilizes as well. Morrison stays back and tries to drive Erb’s pitches to the opposite field. With a tough pitcher like Erb, who throws a very fast heater and also has a devastating change up in her arsenal, being patient and looking to go the other way with the pitch is likely your best chance to succeed. Denlinger can hit for power to all fields against anyone and it’s no surprise that she has a team-best .360 on-base percentage against the LHU ace.

Hopefully this will be helpful for the fans (and maybe even the players). This is statistical evidence that KU can hit Erb and just needs to approach her the right way. If the Golden Bears get their chance against the Lady Eagles, it will be interesting to see if they can turn the tide. Stay Tuned.