Rumor has it that the Boston University softball team will eventually play a home game this season, or even — if they are lucky — a home series.
In that increasingly unlikely situation, they will be led on the mound by senior Robyn King, the ace of the Terriers who is recovering from an offseason arm injury.
A year ago, King went 15-3 with a 1.03 earned run average, 161 strikeouts and a perfect game. King was royal in all aspects of the game, hitting .326 with eight home runs and 26 runs batted in. For her heroics, King was named America East Pitcher of the Year, among many other honors.
And now, she, along with all of her teammates, is left cursing the bizarre weather of the spring that has forced cancellation of the softball team’s last nine games. Being forced indoors has become more than a minor annoyance for the Terriers, and King said the team is more than ready to play under natural light again.
“I think we’re all kind of going through the motions because we’re ready to go outside,” King said. “Mentally, in every way, we need to get outside.”
King’s arm problems forced her to rest during the fall and winter, and she has only recently taken her position on the mound again.
“It was kind of like a broken bone,” King said of the injury. “There was nothing to do but rest it.”
Rest meant no pitching, no overhand throwing and no hitting for King while she recovered.
“Once I got back to pitching, I started throwing overhand again,” King said. “The first time I hit was when we were in Florida. Hitting has been kind of slow coming back.”
Even now, there is still work to be done on the golden arm to get it back to its previous strength.
“They have me using a bone stimulator,” King said. “They also have me doing some easy resistance exercises, trying to get the muscles back.”
She is also taking the regular precautionary measures pitchers face on the days before they take the mound, plus some extra time off to ensure a return to full health and power.
“I’m not really too limited,” King said. “I’m taking one or two days off a week. I’ll throw lighter the day before a game.”
Of course, when no one has any idea when she’ll be pitching next, it gets frustrating for the competitive senior, who is more than ready to get back on the mound to try and improve her 1-1 record, more indicative of how little BU has played than how King’s season has gone.
“It’s faster inside,” King complained of the Terriers’ current practice facility, the Armory. “Nothing is realistic about being inside.”
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