Steinbach cool in the clutch

Updated: June 2, 2011 10:00PM

Andrean junior Nikki Steinbach ices her elbow three times a day.

Not exactly living the dream, you might think.

But it’s a necessity if she wants to keep pitching.

Steinbach got hit in the elbow in the LaPorte Tournament earlier in the season, and then again in the Twins Lake Invitational. She had to come out of the Twins Lake championship game against Munster. Steinbach wound up missing five games total.

The doctor’s advice was to monitor the situation, keep a close eye on her pitch count and use plenty of ice.

She’s been almost unhittable since her return. And that’s paid off mightily for the 59ers.

Andrean (23-8) won its third straight regional championship on Tuesday and will play Columbia City (14-12) in the Twin Lakes Semistate semifinal at 10 a.m. CST on Saturday.

Steinbach has had an impressive postseason, allowing just one run in 28 innings as her team won three sectional contests and the regional, 1-0, against Gavit.

But the ultimate goal — a state championship — is three wins away.

“I think winning state is realistic,” she said. “The only thing we have to do is start stringing hits together. We left 11 runners on base against Gavit.”

Steinbach, who has verbally committed to Ball State, and her catcher, Kelly Ryan, have been an impressive 1-2 duo on the softball diamond. That’s why it hasn’t been as important for Andrean to put many crooked numbers on the scoreboard.

One or two runs has been enough in all four postseason victories.

“It’s easy to take Nik for granted,” Andrean coach Henry Ryan said. “Since sectionals started, she’s only given up one run and she’s averaging about 14 strikeouts a game. You only have 21 outs, so the defense is only having to make seven of them.

“And then you add Kelly to mix. … When you have her calling the pitches and Nikki, who has such a versatile arsenal, using all of her pitches to keep the batters off-balance it’s an awesome battery.”

Ball State coach Craig Nicholson had the chance to witness her feats at the Griffith Sectional and he came away pretty impressed, too.

“Coach Nicholson is a very lucky coach to have her for four years of college,” Ryan said. “The man left with a smile on his face.

“I got a chance to talk to (Andrean graduate and current Ball State player) Audrey Bickel and asked her what Coach Nicholson thought of Nikki and he told her: ‘Can we get her now?’ He was definitely impressed.”

Her stats speak for themselves, as she has allowed just 11 earned runs in 159 innings in 23 games. She has struck out 268 batters and walked just 19. She also has 20 complete games and 10 shutouts.

Steinbach is confident in her team’s chances too despite the team scoring just six runs in four postseason games.

“It was exciting when we went downstate my freshmen year,” she said. “It was also depressing (because we lost). But we have what it takes to get there. I think if we show what we can do as a team, then I feel we can do it. The only thing we need to do is string hits together. We’ve gotten the hits but we’ve left too many runners on base. But we have the talent to go all the way.”

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