While University of Toledo sophomore pitcher Erin Hunt has a fiery side on the mound, fifth-year senior catcher Kaitlyn Bergman is a calming influence behind the plate.
Together they have formed the perfect dynamic and have played a key role in Toledo winning its first-ever Mid-American Conference tournament title for its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1992.
“We are polar opposites,” Hunt said. “She is the calm in the storm that is the game for sure. It’s great to have that. She can just look at me and say, ‘Hey, reset and you got this.’ It’s perfect.”
Hunt transferred to Toledo this season from NCAA Division II Hillsdale with new Toledo head coach Joe Abraham and faced a large amount of pressure to fit in with a new team.
Here is a look at the Toledo softball team's previous NCAA tournament appearances.
1989
Toledo (36-25) earned its first NCAA tournament berth after winning the Mid-American Conference regular-season title. The MAC did not have a conference tournament from 1987 to 1995, and the regular-season champ represented the league in the national tournament. The 1989 Rockets, under coach Cheryl Sprangel, beat Big Ten champion Iowa and Creighton twice to reach the Women's College World Series, where they fell to Fresno State and Oklahoma State.
1992
Toledo (39-22) went 27-4 in MAC play to win the league championship by seven games and earn its second NCAA tournament berth. Sprangel's Rockets lost to Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton in regional play. Toledo's .639 win percentage that season was second best in team history.
Source: utrockets.com
“It’s been a ton of pressure on her,” Abraham said. “You are coming from a D-II to a D-I with the new coach that came from the same school and into a program that has established pitchers. You can just imagine the pressure.”
Hunt admitted she put a heavy burden on herself at the beginning of the season.
“I definitely personally felt it,” Hunt said. “I put that stigma on myself that I’m just a D-II pitcher. My team did a really good job of building me up and telling me I was doing great. They gave me the confidence to go out there and throw how I throw.”
Hunt started the season a bit slow but she turned things around quickly, helping Toledo win seven of its last 10 games down the stretch.
Then Hunt took her pitching to another level in the MAC tournament, earning the win in each of the team’s six victories on the way to tournament MVP honors.
“I definitely didn’t feel like I was pitching my best at the beginning,” Hunt said. “I think halfway through the MAC season was when everything started to come together and I gained confidence, and I felt like I was throwing harder than ever. That was just my team having my back early in the season allowing me to work to get to my best.”
Having Bergman as a steadying presence has been a big key to Hunt’s recent success.
“Erin said the other day that none of this would be possible without [Bergman],” Abraham said. “We were fortunate that we came into a situation with a first-team all-league catcher. She’s just an absolute rock behind the plate both physically and mentally. She’s just as important a piece of that battery as Erin is and she is just huge for our whole pitching staff.”
Bergman is the team’s top power hitter with 11 home runs and 41 RBIs this season and she became the program’s all-time leader in home runs when she hit her 23rd career homer during the team’s MAC tournament run. But helping along the pitching staff is always at the top of her mind.
“My biggest role is keeping the pitchers calm, cool, and collected out on the mound,” Bergman said. “I help them keep their emotions in check and help them control what they can control. It’s my job to make sure they are staying focused and locked in on the game and doing what is best for them in that moment.”
Bergman has been around the UT program, and she knew it might be difficult at first for Hunt coming in as a transfer this season.
“There is always pressure coming and meeting a whole other group of girls,” Bergman said. “But I think it was nice that we have six pitchers on our pitching staff, so it wasn’t like she had to be perfect right away. She had time to catch her footing and fit in a little bit and I think our pitching staff helped her do that and grow as a pitcher.”
As the season has progressed, Bergman has become more and more aware of Hunt’s competitive nature.
“Erin has some fire in her,” Bergman said. “That’s not a secret. I think a big part for me this year was teaching her how to control that energy on the mound and control that anger and fuel that into her pitching rather than getting angry.”
Hunt has only gained confidence as the season has progressed and right now is at the top of her game.
“She has just been attacking the zone lately,” Bergman said. “She just goes right at the batters. She is not afraid of any hitter. She is not trying to pitch around anyone. Our defense has been spot on the past few weekends, which helps her on the mound. She knows she can go right at them and doesn’t have to make a perfect pitch.”
Going from a Division II pitcher to the top pitcher on an NCAA tournament team has been a quick transformation for Hunt, but she wouldn’t want it any other way.
“I never thought I would be here,” she said. “I have always watched [the NCAA tournament] on TV, but I never thought I would play in it. It’s a surreal feeling, for sure.”
First Published May 14, 2019, 6:18 p.m.
