"Washington pitcher Gabbie Plain looked like she was done and only the most optimistic Husky softball fans would have liked their team’s chances trailing by four runs against a Michigan pitcher who had dominated UW the day before."
Lance Glasoe: Smart man. Good man. You'll see why i said that if you read below.
UW softball putting faith into Australian arm through 2021
By Anthony Edwards The Daily Apr 12, 2021 Updated Apr 26, 2021
Dancing: Not a word often associated with the sport of softball.
But in regard to Washington softball senior Gabbie Plain, “dancing” is exactly the word teammates use to describe her presence in the pitcher’s circle.
“I just love watching her dance from the outfield, she’s freaking awesome,” junior Sami Reynolds said.
Whether that dancing describes Plain’s pitches, her body language, or the way that the senior dominates opposing batters, Plain has had plenty to celebrate in 2021.
In 20 starts this season, Plain has arguably been the best pitcher in NCAA softball. - “I just love watching her dance from the outfield, she’s freaking awesome.”
-Sami Reynolds - As of April 11, Plain is the NCAA softball leader in strikeouts, with 227. Forty-nine percent of at-bats against Plain this season have resulted in a strikeout, with 56% of all outs coming via the punchout.
It’s an astounding bounce-back performance for the Harrington Park, Australia, native following a less-than-stellar 2020.
Prior to the season, Plain had been traveling back and forth between Seattle and Australia, training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. As if the lengthy flights weren’t enough, Plain also had to adjust to different rules between international and collegiate play. In international play, a pitchers’ toe may leave the ground during the pitching motion, while in the United States, a pivot foot must remain in contact with the ground.
Not only were the adjustments demanding, but there was no longer an experienced second arm to pick Plain up, with half of Washington’s staff entering the season without a single collegiate inning under its belt.
In 18 appearances in a shortened 2020 season, she struggled with a career-worst 2.76 ERA, walking more batters and striking out fewer.
But Plain’s teammates picked her up, as the team finished with a 23-2 record. Star freshman Kelley Lynch provided a reliable second arm to complement the Aussie.
Senior Gabbie Plain cracks a smile in the pitcher's circle during the softball game against Cal on April 1, 2021 at Husky Softball Stadium. Plain is the NCAA leader in strikeouts through April 11, with 227.
“After seeing the way everyone picked me up when I wasn’t performing last year, as well as getting to know everyone better this year, I feel more comfortable knowing that I can just go out there, do my job, and pitch,” Plain said. “And if I need to, someone else can come in and take over for me. Everyone is willing to do the job that is there. It’s just to go out there and have fun.”
Despite the struggles in 2020, her domination this season comes as no surprise considering how consistent Plain has been throughout her career.
During her first two seasons, Plain and fellow ace Taran Alvelo combined for an unrelenting one-two punch in the circle, guiding the Huskies to back-to-back World Series appearances that resulted in second- and third-place finishes. A perfect game as a freshman and back-to-back no hitters her sophomore year stud Plain’s résumé, as she was named First Team All-Pac-12 both seasons.
Following Alvelo’s departure, a pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and a hot start to 2021, all eyes lie on Washington’s leading pitcher as she leads a talented squad in pursuit of its first national championship since 2009.
Lessons from the past
In collegiate softball, very rarely does a team find success without a dominant pitching staff.
The 2009 national champion Washington softball team was no exception, guided by arguably one of the greatest pitchers in softball history: Danielle Lawrie.
2021’s formula remains relatively the same for the Huskies, who are searching for their first title since that special season. They are going to need Plain to be nothing short of perfect. - “Gabbie’s one of the best in the game, strictly because of the movement she has on the ball. She has a repertoire of pitches, but she doesn’t miss over the plate and she’s able to keep the ball down in the zone. If you’re able to do that, you can’t struggle much when you keep the ball down.”
-Danielle Lawrie, UW softball Hall of Famer - Throughout her illustrious career, Lawrie rewrote the UW record books, throwing 149 complete games, 65 shutouts, and 1,860 strikeouts, and winning 136 games.
Although Plain has not been the workhorse that Lawrie was throughout her career at the UW, many other Washington pitching records are within the realm of possibility for Plain to eclipse. Some of these records include earned run average, which Plain is currently top-five in, and winning percentage, in which she is currently the all-time leader.
While Plain and Lawrie may present contrasting pitching styles, the UW Hall of Famer sees a lot of herself in the Australian, especially in how head coach Heather Tarr is utilizing the senior’s talents.
“For someone like Gabbie, her and I are both completely different pitchers, but I think it’s trying to get to know your athlete for who they are,” Lawrie said. “I know personally that’s why I would run through a wall for [Heather], because I knew she would be the one that would always be there for me and would go out of her way to make sure I’m OK and to connect.
“For me, always knowing that she cared made me realize that I never wanted to let her down. When we would lose, I would almost feel that disappointment in myself because I’m letting Tarr down — because I know how much she cares, I know who much she invests, and that means something to an athlete.”
That investment began before Plain even stepped foot on the Washington campus, as a teen in Australia.
Senior Gabbie Plain pitches the ball in Washington's matchup against Arizona at Husky Softball Stadium on March 20, 2021. With 552 1/3 career innings under her belt and a 1.28 ERA, Plain has become one of the best Washington softball pitchers in history.
With the Pacific Ocean blocking Plain from NCAA scouts, it was difficult for her to be noticed for her talents throughout high school. Rather than Washington drawing Plain’s attention, she took it upon herself to send a recruiting email to the Huskies. advertisement
“We found Gabbie through an email,” Tarr said. “Just a normal recruit email that we get all of the time … As a coaching staff at the time, we had all seen the video, as we texted each other like, ‘Hey, have you seen this? Is this a real video?’ And once we thought it was a real video we called her, set up a Skype, and recruited her from that point forward.”
Once Tarr met with Plain for the first time, she was fully committed from that point forward to make sure she would wind up at Washington. Leading with the UW’s stand-out academics — Plain is a psychology major — the coaching staff persuaded her to visit campus for a tour.
A few months later, the staff traveled to Hawai’i to watch her pitch in person. What they saw was like nothing they had seen since 2009, and has even been recognized by Lawrie herself.
“Gabbie’s one of the best in the game, strictly because of the movement she has on the ball,” Lawrie said. “She has a repertoire of pitches, but she doesn’t miss over the plate and she’s able to keep the ball down in the zone. If you’re able to do that, you can’t struggle much when you keep the ball down.” - “At the end of the day, I believe that Gabbie Plain is good enough, and if her team can score a run, they’re going to win. Her stuff is that good.”
-Lawrie - Although the two pitchers’ styles couldn’t be any more different, with Plain controlling the zone through her movement and Lawrie overpowering batters with speed, their success at the UW has been unmatched.
After watching Plain pitch earlier this season at the Husky Classic, Lawrie won’t be able to see her pitch again this season, but by the summertime, the two might even be facing off in the Olympics.
For now, training in Florida with the Canadian National Team, Lawrie is cheering on Plain as the Huskies pursue their ultimate goal.
“At the end of the day, I believe that Gabbie Plain is good enough, and if her team can score a run, they’re going to win. Her stuff is that good.”
A dynamic duo, battery-style
But before the Olympics, Plain has business to finish at Washington.
After falling just shy of a national championship as a freshman and sophomore, Plain now has experience on the biggest stage, with the goal of winning it all in 2021.
Perhaps the most important person alongside Plain in pursuit of a national championship is her personal catcher, Morganne Flores.
Senior pitcher Gabbie Plain and graduate senior catcher Morganne Flores pose at Husky Softball Stadium on March 31, 2021. The duo has been nearly perfect so far in 2021, winning all but one game in which they start together, the only loss being a no decision for Plain.
The duo has been together in lockstep for the past two seasons following Alvelo’s departure. Flores has caught every single one of Plain’s starts this season, providing a level of expertise only capable of a sixth-year senior.
While the two were only sketched out to be together at the UW for two seasons, an ACL tear forced Flores to miss the entire 2018 season. Another additional year was granted to Flores following the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, providing her with a final season of softball eligibility to go along with the final year of her master’s program in leadership and higher education.
With so much playing time under their belt, pitching coach Lance Glasoe handed over the reigns to the UW’s experienced battery in 2021, allowing Plain and Flores to call their own pitches and make in-game adjustments as necessary.
“He kind of trusts that we’ve been working together for long enough and that we know each other well enough that we can trust each other,” Plain said. “If one person wants something or calls something that the other person doesn’t want, we trust each other to bounce off ideas and pick what’s best for the scenario in both of our minds. It’s been pretty interesting working like that.”
It is an unusual award from Glasoe, who is now in his 10th season as an assistant, as the only other pitchers he has allowed to call their own games are Lawrie and Alvelo.
While Glasoe normally calls the game from the dugout, he is still an integral piece of Washington’s scouting team, taking occasional visits to the circle to visit with the duo during tense moments or when they need a scouting report on a particular batter.
Plain and Flores were both voted to the 2021 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Preseason Watch List. Washington's battery hopes to ride 343 games of experience to the Women's College World Series in their final year playing together.
“He’s still a major part of it, Plain said. “He’s kind of just letting us feel it out in the game scenario. If we do need each other’s help or need to bounce something off, we can learn a little bit.”
Although Glasoe and Tarr have given up some freedoms in the past, it took until midway through the season for them to hand over the reigns when Flores last called her own games with Alvelo in 2019 .. https://www.dailyuw.com/sports/article_8eddb0d8-5745-11e9-9c24-43eb0d1cb9c8.html ... But this year, Flores and Plain have been calling the shots since day one.
“I think it’s really cool that [Glasoe] is giving us that freedom,” Flores said. “Being able to learn from him about how to do that has been huge, because I think that he is the best pitching coach in the world.”
It is understandable for coaches to trust Plain, considering her performance on the field as well as her intelligence off the field. In addition to studying softball tape, Plain is pursuing a double major in anthropology and psychology and will return to Washington in 2022 to earn her degree. The extra eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic has also allowed Plain to work toward a minor in diversity as well as education, learning, and society.
On the field, Plain has been just as impressive this season, with a 20-0 record to begin the season — the most consecutive games to open a season without a loss in Washington history.
If she is able to maintain the same level of success throughout the rest of the year, there will be a lot more for her to dance about by season’s end.
Reach Co-Sports Editor Anthony Edwards at sports@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @edwardsanthonyb
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