Caroline McLendon is always working to perfect her craft, and it certainly shows on the Softball Field. She has incredible command over her pitches and is a major asset to her team inside the circle. A Junior at St. Paul’s Episcopal and player for the Birmingham Bolts, McLendon has been a phenomenal two-way playey, proving to be skilled both at the plate and when pitching.
Though she has the ability to play two-ways, McLendon’s true passion is pitching. In a recent interview I did with Caroline, she hammered this point home, stating “I love being a pitcher because I get to control the game and I get to lead my team. When I’m on the mound, I see every batter as my own battle, and I plan what I’m going to do with every pitch.”
Electric movement helps get great results
When watching Caroline pitch, her movement is explosive as she winds up and begins to deliver a pitch to the opposing batter. She posts regularly on Twitter as she recognizes the potential in social media as it relates to getting noticed on the field by potential scouts. “In this day and age, technology is the fastest way to spread information so I try my best to post my softball seasons so that college coaches can see what I have to offer.”
Her pitching arsenal consists of a fastball, curveball, and drop ball which all average around 62-63 MPH with some movement. She throws an occasional off-speed drop ball that comes in at around 52 MPH to change things up on the batters. Her numbers back up her passion in the circle as she has a 3.00 ERA, 1.543 WHIP, and hitters average .227 when batting against her. “Faith Academy, a softball powerhouse at the time, was in our area so I had to pitch against them. I was super excited to pitch against their players, one of which was committed to the University of Georgia at the time. It helped show me at a young age that I was good enough to play against the best.“
Using Passion to Fuel Others
There’s no doubt that Caroline has a passion for the game, her skillset shows that she had been dedicated to the sport since a very early age. When talking about what she plans to do in the future, she said she would like to be a college softball coach.
Her love of the game and competitive nature can boost the efforts of those around her, this trait would translate well to the world of coaching. “I want to be able to use my experiences and love of softball to empower young women to continue their softball careers.”
McLendon is also very family orientated as she mentioned her parents being a huge influence on her, as well as memories of watching sports with her cousins as she grew up. It was a very nurturing environment for a young athlete to grow up in. That kind of support is something she can emulate to future generations of talent as she keeps pursuing her dreams of one day becoming a college softball coach.