Andrean junior Sadie Drousias lived in pitcher’s circles during the offseason.
Every minute that Drousias had available was devoted to preparing to be the 59ers’ top pitcher this season after ace Abbey Bond graduated last year.
“In my entire life, I’ve never pitched as much as I did in the offseason from my sophomore year to my junior year,” Drousias said. “Pretty much every day it was just pitching, pitching, pitching.”
It’s a role Drousias owns for Andrean (10-6, 4-4), which is in third place in the Northwest Crossroads Conference and hopes to make a postseason run after its Class 2A sectional semifinal exit last year. She’s 6-4 in 57 innings of work, having already surpassed her 55 1/3 innings as a sophomore and her 56 1/3 innings as a freshman.
With Bond pitching for Purdue Northwest, Drousias has taken the reins.
“I know she worked super hard in the offseason, and I’m really proud of the progress she’s made,” Andrean coach Miranda Elish said. “I don’t think she pitched all that much before she came here, but she knew that was a possibility down the road in her career, she prepared for it and she’s ready for it.”
Drousias has also been a key part of the 59ers’ offense. She’s hitting .444 with five doubles and two home runs, and she’s in a three-way tie for the team lead with 18 RBIs. She said a more selective approach at the plate has helped fuel her success there.
“I’m looking for the pitch that I want to hit,” she said. “Those other years, I’d just swing at the first thing I saw.”
Drousias knows batters will make contact against her too. Her work in the circle is more about placement than power. She has struck out just 45 this season.
“Some people are going to hit the ball,” she said. “But if my spots are on point, then we should be able to get the routine plays that we need so we can go far.”
It took some time for that message to get through to Drousias, according to junior shortstop Aubrey Grasha. They play on the same travel team, and Grasha said Drousias had to be convinced that she didn’t need to strike out all 21 batters every game.
“She’s taken a step back and is realizing that she doesn’t have to put so much pressure on herself,” Grasha said. “She’s not a strikeout pitcher, so she’s going to put balls in play, and her defense is going to go to work for her. We’re not going to leave her out there by herself.”
But Drousias is a fiery competitor. She’s the youngest of four siblings, and the other three have played sports in college. Her older brothers Colton and Caleb are wrestlers, and her older sister Cydney plays softball at Lewis.
“I’d say I do feel some pressure because I’d be the only one who didn’t,” Drousias said. “So of course I feel like I have to get up there.”
Elish isn’t surprised.
“You can tell she’s the youngest of four kids,” Elish said. “She just fights, man — like any youngest sibling would. She fights hard.”
That will carry Drousias forward, even after the huge leaps she has already made as a pitcher.
“From where I was last year, I feel like I’ve improved a ton,” she said. “But there’s always something you can do better.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter.
