Thompson shows fast learning curve

by Eric Keppeler
Grand Island Dispatch, May 4, 2006

Emily Thompson doesn’t mind going up against softball players who are older and more experienced than she is. How else is she supposed to get better? The Grand Island freshman has not looked out of place, pitching in the highly competitive Niagara Frontier League. The Vikings, who are concentrating on building a program with youth, picked up their first win of the season last week against Lewiston-Porter – and Thompson has played a key role. “The more you play, the better you get,” Thompson said. “Going up against seniors now is a great experience, and it will really help later on. You get to recognize different situations as a pitcher, and you start recognizing different players. You know how to pitch to them.” Thompson pitched well in a loss to defending league champion Niagara Falls. Against Kenmore East, she left the game with a minor ankle injury, but returned to pick up the victory against Lew-Port. “Emily has been doing a great job for us,” Grand Island coach Marlene Winkler said. “She’s been very strong – she only allowed seven hits in the loss to Niagara Falls, and they’re a big hitting team. And those seven hits were at times when nobody was on base. So she’s not giving up the big hit when the bases are loaded.”

Emily Thompson delivers a pitch for the Grand Island Vikings Softball team. The freshman already has a fair arsenal of pitches at her command, including a good fastball and a fair off-speed pitch. (photo by Joe Eberle)

That wasn’t much of a consolation to Thompson.

“We should have won the last two games, but we didn’t,” Thompson said. “We were playing against beatable teams, so now to finally beat a team that we should beat – that’s a good thing in any situation. Every win is huge, and once you get a taste of winning, you just want to keep playing and get more. It builds momentum.”

Thompson already has a fair arsenal of pitches at her command, including a good fastball and a fair off-speed pitch. She combines them effectively to get ahead of the hitters and keep them off balance.

“She’s really starting to move into that role of becoming a No. 1 pitcher,” Winkler said. “She’s going to be phenomenal for years to come. She’s going to grow, she’s going to learn. She’ll know what pitches to throw to what batters – it’s going to be a great experience for her.”

The Vikings finished with seven victories last season – including six in the NFL, which is the most for Grand Island in a long time.

Winkler has high hopes that Thompson will play a key role on an even greater improvement this season – both during the regular season and in the playoffs.

“Each game, we’re learning things – when to be patient and when to be aggressive,” Winkler said. “We’re really starting to come together. The two games that we lost definitely were winnable games, but we caused our own problems. But you’ve got to get on that roll, and a win is a win.”

Thompson is learning plenty along the way, and she still has three more years to put it to good use.