University of Charleston softball pitchers Alli Burdette and Jessie Rowe enter the Golden Eagles' first game of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional tournament with almost identical earned run averages. Rowe's is at 1.45, Burdette's is at 1.48, and that's about as far as their pitching similarities go.
Burdette and Rowe have different approaches in the pitching circle. They have different ways to flummox opposing batters. That's exactly how UC coach Ray Loeser wants it.
The Golden Eagles (45-9), the Atlantic Regional's No. 2 seed, host No. 7 seed Lock Haven at 2:30 p.m. Thursday at the UC softball complex. Charleston hopes the variations in its 1-2 pitching punch will keep the team playing through the weekend and beyond.
Those style differences were something Loeser and pitching coach Justine Kodesh planned for before the season began and found with Burdette and Rowe as their starters. The junior Burdette's best pitches are her curveball and her riseball, while sophomore Rowe's are her dropball and screwball.
"One of the most effective things is being able to change eye levels and change speeds," Loeser said. "One of the best things they do is one changes the eye level up and the other changes the eye level down. So they really do contradict each other in a really good way."
Because Burdette's pitches travel up, she forces batters into more pop flies and swings-and-misses. She has 169 strikeouts on the year and induced 294 flyouts. Rowe's pitches move down, so she gets more swings over the top of the ball and more weak grounders. She has struck out just 83 batters, but induced 300 groundouts.
That's makes for effective pitching in doubleheaders, when UC can throw Burdette, the reigning Mountain East Conference pitcher of the year, in one game and Rowe in another. It becomes even more effective when Charleston throws them in the same game.
"You can definitely tell," Burdette said. "When the batters have been through the lineup with one of us and they start catching up, then the other one comes in, you can definitely tell they're off balance, and it really works well."
Everyone had hoped in the preseason that the Burdette-Rowe combo would shine like it has, but there were no guarantees. Burdette had thrown just 28 innings the season before at Division I Elon. Rowe was coming off a good freshman year where she finished 11-6 with a 1.86 ERA, and UC wanted to see her take another step forward in her pitching.
It didn't take long, Rowe said, before the two pitchers knew they had something special.
"Right off the bat, from practicing with each other, we realized, 'Hey, this could work,' " Rowe said.
"We work very well together," she added. "We have a lot of confidence in each other. I know that if something happens to me on the mound, she'll be able to come in for me at any given time and have my back. And I think she feels the same."
Rowe enters the Atlantic Regional with an 18-5 record, while Burdette comes in at 27-3. Charleston's 1.49 ERA as an entire pitching staff ranks eighth in Division II. Burdette and Rowe know that comes through a team effort, from the defense behind them to their work with Kodesh to perfect their best pitches.
As important a role as Burdette and Rowe have played so far this season, Loeser said that importance will only grow in the regional tournament.
"When you're in postseason, it really is advantageous," Loeser said. "You can use both of them because you don't have to worry about one doubleheader or playing the same team twice."
Burdette and Rowe are happy that their differences in the pitcher's circle have helped Charleston reach new heights. Their 45 wins are a team record and the Golden Eagles owned a 25-game winning streak earlier this season that is the longest of any team in UC athletic program history.
"It feels awesome to know that we work so well together and complement each other really well," she said. "And we can do our best to help the team win."