Wichita State notes: Kaitlyn Malone prepares for Creighton softball scrimmage after strong start to fall practices

Wichita State’s scrimmage schedule sets up perfectly for softball pitcher Kaitlyn Malone to work on one of her concerns.

Malone pitched in last weekend’s scrimmage against NAIA Saint Gregory’s and returns to the circle on Saturday against Creighton at Wilkins Stadium.

“One thing that I struggled with in the past is kind of putting a name to it, when I really just need to pitch how I know how to pitch,” she said. “I’ve, maybe, toned down my pitching for the lower teams and then brought it up for the higher teams.”

Malone’s goal to ignore the name on the jersey is off to a good start. She struck out 11, walked two, and didn’t allow a hit in six innings during WSU’s 10-3 win over Saint Gregory’s in 10 innings.

“Great command,” coach Kristi Bredbenner said. “She hit her spots. When she missed, she missed out of the zone low. Katie didn’t leave any hanging over the plate.”

Malone, 19-10 last season with a 3.45 ERA, is changing her approach with new pitching coach Ryne Stefankiewicz, who stresses location. She is throwing her rise ball less often, saving it for two strikes, and using her curve earlier in the count to get ahead.”

“He tends to like the ball low,” she said. “I have a rise ball, which was kind of my go-to pitch the last two years and I think it’s more of an out pitch this year. Staying lower, I get a lot more ground balls and it’s a lot harder for them to get those hard-hit balls that have the potential go out.”

The Shockers play Creighton at noon and Tulsa at 4:30 p.m., Saturday. It is WSU’s lone weekend facing NCAA Division I competition. Jenni Brooks will start against Tulsa and Bredbenner will use the scrimmages to play the entire roster.

“If we win, we win and that’s great,” she said. “More than anything, I want to use it to evaluate where we’re at against some tougher competition.”

Third baseman Paige Mason homered twice and drove in five runs against Saint Gregory’s. First baseman Cacy Williams doubled twice. Freshman Laurie Anne Derrico went 2 for 2 with a double and played third base and center field.

“She looked very smooth and very prepared for what she was facing,” Bredbenner said. “We had 20 hits, but we probably had 10 line drives right at people, too. We stroked the ball pretty well.”

Junior left fielder Brittany Fortner, who is rehabbing a shoulder injury, recently was cleared to hit and doubled in the scrimmage. She is not cleared to throw.

“No defense for her for a little bit,” Bredbenner said. “It was nice to see her back. She didn’t miss a beat.”

TV on deck — WSU’s men’s basketball schedule is creeping toward its final state with several tipoff times revealed in recent days.

Expect all games to be assigned a time and TV network next week. ESPN is scheduled to release its schedule on Wednesday, followed by CBS Sports Network, Fox Sports and Cox Kansas.

WSU finishes 10th — WSU’s women’s golf team placed 10th at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Wolcott, Colo., shooting a third-round 297 to finish with a 53-over-par 917. The Shockers finished eight strokes behind ninth-place Mississippi. WSU’s Maria Alejandra Villalobos tied for 33rd with a 227. Taryn Torgerson tied for 36th with a 228.

This story was originally published September 23, 2015 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Wichita State notes: Kaitlyn Malone prepares for Creighton softball scrimmage after strong start to fall practices."