In the fall, NIU softball lost senior pitcher Morgan Bittner to injury, which left a trio of freshmen to handle pitching duties this season.

“Losing Morgan this fall was not great,” said Huskies coach Lindsay Chouinard said. “We would have loved to have her to mentor these freshmen, but at the same time, we knew how capable these freshmen were of doing great things, and they have to this point.”

The three freshmen pitchers who have seen significant playing time this season for NIU are Megan Dortch, Jessica Sturm and Allyson Hecht.

“It feels great coming in and knowing that they are relying on freshmen to get the job done,” Sturm said.

One of the biggest things for the pitchers was the transition from high school to collegiate softball.

“It is a lot different from high school and you feel like coming in, especially when you are doing so good in high school, that it wouldn’t be so difficult to compete at this level,” Hecht said. “But you realize how hard it is once you get in the mix of it.”

Sturm said she struggled adjusting from the high school game to the collegiate game at first, but once she realized it’s the same game, she began to succeed.

All three women have made major contributions to the team this season.

Dortch leads the Huskies with 11 victories and 154 strikeouts.

“Megan is a great pitcher,” Chouinard said. “When she is on, she is very hard to hit and she is mentally tough, and that is something you cannot teach.”

Sturm won seven games on the season and has four of NIU’s six wins in MAC play.

“Jess Sturm just brings a completely different game being left handed,” Chouinard said. “She is somebody that her teammates truly want to play for.”

Hecht, who has mostly been a relief pitcher, has the lowest earned run average on the team during MAC play.

“Ally is a great compliment to the staff,” Chouinard said. “I think she has learned early on in this season that hard work ethic is going to be what makes her great.”

The freshmen-led pitching has helped the Huskies to get to second place in the MAC West division.

Dortch, Sturm and Hecht have had success early in their careers, but Chouinard believes there is more and that the sky is the limit for the pitching trio.