Emily Wethington has been a horse for the Bobcats over her four-year career and this season no different. But now she's starting to garner some significant recognition.
The senior pitcher and designated hitter added already broke the program's career strikeouts record before the Bobcats lifted off for Southern California. On the final day of competition, in the first game of a double-header that she also started in the circle, Wethington broke the all-time home run record, launching the 23rd of her career in the third inning.
"She's definitely stepped up and been a leader of us throughout this entire season thus far -- playing through some injuries and persevering and making adjustments to her game when the pressure's been on her shoulders," coach Jodi Hermanek said. "She's been doing it on all sides of the ball. She's been outstanding for us in the circle and she's come through in some clutch situations for us offensively."
Hermanek said she was optimistic about Wethington considering the season has yet to reach the mid-way point. She emphasized the importance of keeping Wethington in the lineup, but wasn't very concerned about overusing her arm.
"She knows she's getting for. She knows that we need her to take the ball as much as possible especially when we had (Melissa) Bonner out for practically a month." Hermanek said. "Emily is a kid who wants the ball. She wants to be in the middle of the action so taking her off the field is a hard decision.
"She's broken two records for us: one in circle with strikeouts and one at the plate with home runs. We just need to keep her healthy, keep her strong, and allow her to keep going."
--bl245106@ohio.edu
Twitter: @bart_logan, @ThePostSports
