By ROBERT CESSNA
Eagle Staff Writer

Printer friendly version | E-mail to a friend

Megan Gibson is the perfect All-America insurance policy.

The senior right-hander has helped the Aggies overcome the temporary loss of All-America pitcher Amanda Scarborough. Gibson, who alternated starts with Scarborough for most of the last three seasons, is 16-0 with an 0.77 earned run average in 2008. She's averaging a strikeout per inning and has eight shutouts.

Her ERA is half of last year's, which was 1.54. Gibson is just a victory short of the 17 she had as a sophomore and again last season in helping the Aggies reach the College World Series.

"I think she's really focused," A&M head coach Jo Evans said. "We see a lot of athletes in a year, and I haven't seen anybody that's more focused than she is on the mound. She really keeps her composure. She's unflappable. If she gives up a hit, no big deal. If she gives up a walk, no big deal. I've seen her get out of jams against great teams. I've seen her make good hitters look bad. She's mixing up her pitches. She just has a great presence on the mound."

Gibson felt no extra pressure when Scarborough left the lineup after bruising her right foot against Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 20.

"I just needed to keep doing what I was doing, because I'd already thrown quite a few games," Gibson said.

Gibson was 6-0 with a 1.29 ERA when Scarborough suffered her injury. Gibson's most strikeouts in a game were seven.

Since then she's 10-0 with a an 0.49 ERA against better competition. She's beaten Houston, DePaul, Florida State and Lousiana-Lafayette. She's struck out eight or more batters in five games, including 10 twice -- against North Carolina State and Utah.

Gibson said her mental approach has been to be ready for everyone, not just certain opponents.

"I think I have to pitch my best against every team we play," she said.

Summer workouts and pitching for the Washington Absolute Blast in the Canada Cup have helped pave the way for Gibson's success.

"I know I worked real hard last year on defining some of my pitches, but this past summer I just worked on those pitches," she said. "I don't think you can ever perfect pitches. When you think something is good, I just think you can make it that much better."

Gibson is confident throwing any of her five pitches -- riseball, change-up, curve ball, dropball or screwball.

Perhaps her biggest improvement has come in location. She's been able to start her riseball low in the strike zone, then gradually elevate it. Or she start her curveball on the corner and slide it off that edge consistently.

Gibson also has the benefit of playing with Scarborough, who offers advice between innings.

"She's really helped me a lot," Gibson said. "She picks up key things that I might not see."

Gibson said she's never felt more comfortable on the mound.

"It almost feels like there's less pressure," Gibson said. "I don't know why."

Evans said the last thing she wanted to do was put higher expectations on Gibson.

"She just needed to maintain where she's at," Evans said. "You hate to tell a first-team All-American she needs to get better. That's too much pressure, too much to think about. She just needs to continue on the course she's on."

Gibson has been complemented by freshman right-hander Rhiannon Kliesing, who is 8-4 with a 1.37 ERA. Kliesing has given the Aggies a chance to win every game she's pitched.

"I think it's been nice that Rhi has got in there and pitched every other game," Evans said. "Because [Gibson] doesn't have to feel like it's all on her shoulders."

A&M, the preseason favorite to win the Big 12 Conference, is ranked No. 9 in the country. The Aggies will open league play at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Aggie Softball Complex against Baylor.

"I'm really excited to play Baylor," Gibson said. "I feel last year we didn't play as well as we could have against them."

Baylor grabbed a pair of extra-inning victories over the Aggies in the regular season -- 3-1 in eight innings at the Aggie Softball Complex and 5-4 in 10 innings in Waco -- that gave Baylor the 2007 league title.

The two met in the Women's College World Series, with Baylor grabbing a 7-4 victory in an elimination game.

Lisa Ferguson, Baylor's starting pitcher in all three games last year, has graduated, but the Lady Bears are 17-6 and ranked 15th in the country. Baylor will host the Aggies next Wednesday after the Aggies travel to Texas Tech for a two-game series this weekend.

A&M (28-6) lost its last two games at the San Diego Classic II over the weekend, but Gibson remains confident.

"I know not having Amanda is a loss," Gibson said. "But we've rallied around each other."

Gibson has remained one of the nation's most dangerous hitters, despite the added pressure of being the Aggies' top pitcher and not having Scarborough in front of her or behind her in the lineup. Scarborough is a lifetime .355 hitter.

Gibson leads the team in home runs (9), runs batted in (31), slugging percentage (.723) and walks (27). She's hitting .340 with a .492 on-base average.

She said Gibson the pitcher has helped Gibson the batter.

"There's a certain mindset for each one, but then again they are the same," she said. "I do think of myself as a pitcher when I'm pitching, but I also use my advantage of what I would think as a hitter. And I do the same thing as a hitter. If I was pitching in that situation, what would I do?"

NOTES -- Gibson pitched twice against Baylor last season but had no decision. She threw five innings at Waco, allowing one run. She threw 3 1/3 innings of relief in the College World Series, also allowing a run. Gibson's only other pitching appearance against Baylor was a 11-4 loss as a freshman at the Big 12 tournament. Baylor tagged her for six runs in only two innings. Scarborough missed that tournament after getting struck in the head with a batted ball during practice. ... Baylor outfielders Nicole and Tiffany Wesley played with Gibson and Scarborough in the Canada Cup. ... Baylor pitching has limited Gibson to 2-of-16 hitting over the last two seasons with a solo home run. Gibson was 5 of 10 in three games her freshman season with a home run and five RBIs. ... Scarborough didn't play in San Diego last weekend. She batted once against Illinois and Louisiana-Lafayette last weekend at home after missing 14 games. ... A&M started playing Baylor in a split mid-week series in 2002 with the Aggies opening at Baylor. This is the first time the two have opened at A&M. "I'm just telling them to have fun," Evans said. "It's been a grueling preseason. We've played in six tournaments in a row, five [games] in each of those, and that takes its toll. Our kids are excited to start league play. Don't make the Big 12 games bigger than any of the other games that we've played."

• Robert Cessna's e-mail address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com.

---

Notice about comments:
Aggiesports.com is pleased to offer readers the ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Aggiesports.com does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not theeagle.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.

Full terms and conditions can be read here.

---

---

Share this story:

 Google   Yahoo   digg   del.icio.us 

 facebook   Slashdot