MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — You could hear the *thwack* of the softball hitting the catcher's mitt before you left the parking lot across the street of the Middle Tennessee softball field before practice on Tuesday afternoon.
Practice wouldn't start for another 30 minutes, but the Blue Raider pitching staff was already hard at work, as new pitching coach Helen Peña moved the dummy batter and plate around to simulate different types of hitters.
"Timing of our break," Peña later explained what was going on with the bullpens. "What does a lefty slapper, who's up in the box, catching that break out front, look like vs a righty power hitter that's back in the box, making us throw an extra foot and a half?