Softball – Double trouble: UL pitchers Cuevas, Bourgeois work their differences to their advantage

Brady Aymond • baymond@theadvertiser.com • May 28, 2010

If not for the Killer B’s nickname they share with teammate Ashley Brignac, UL’s Brittany Cuevas and Donna Bourgeois may have been in the market for a new nickname this year.

Maybe something like "Jeckyl and Hyde" or "Fire and Ice."

But despite their contrasting styles in the circle, the duo is more alike than people would think, behind the scenes.

"Donna on the field, will not smile, she’s a tough competitor," Cuevas said. "Off the field, though, we’re both pretty goofy — pretty out there, sometimes."

In the circle, though, the Cajun combo are about as different as they come. Cuevas is a rise-ball pitcher, while Bourgeois has a deadly dropball.

"Cuevas throws the ball 66-67, and Donna works it about 64-65," UL co-coach Michael Lotief said. "Cuevas can spin the ball up in the zone, can run the ball in. Over the years, she’s developed a down pitch and a curve. Cuevas can attack you in all four quadrants and really power you.

"And Donna does more of her attacking in the lower two quadrants, in and out. Her command has to be more precise. Donna can beat you on movement and spin. Donna’s strength is her depth, her downspin and her command from side-to-side. And she’s developed an off-speed, so now she can change speeds."

Lotief said the landscape of college softball is constantly evolving, and with that, the pitching staffs have evolved as well.

"The days of one pitcher throwing every pitch is over," UL co-coach Michael Lotief said. "If you’re going to have kids that are going to be durable, continue to be at their best consistently, you need two to three pitchers that can perform at a high level.

"From the start of the season, we understood that the probability of Ashley (Brignac) returning was very low. There’s no way one of those kids could shoulder all of those innings. Even when we struggled early in the season, we resisted the temptation of riding the hot hand and kept rotating them back-and-forth. We just stay committed to it, hoping they would both find their way. And lo and behold, they both got hot."

And the result has been 20-win seasons for both Cuevas and Bourgeois, making them one of only three pitching duos in the country with 20 wins each.

 

"What’s worked to our advantage, really, is being able to split a season between two pitchers," Bourgeois said. "Most staffs can’t do that.

"It’s just really good to know that anytime, any game, we have each other there."

The two have combined for all 45 of the Cajuns’ wins this season — Bourgeois with 23 victories and Cuevas with 22.

Bourgeois sports a 1.78 ERA with 184 strikeouts while Cuevas has a 2.38 ERA with 200 Ks. Opponents are hitting .210 against Bourgeois; .204 against Cuevas. Bourgeois has made 32 starts, Cuevas has made 30.

"Everybody knows Donna is a fierce competitor, that she’s coming at you every pitch," Lotief said. "Cuevas decided this year that she was going to be as fierce as all of them.

"Yeah they have different pitches … but what’s made it work this year is that their intensity level has been equal. It doesn’t matter which one is in the cirlce, they both are bringing it. They’re setting the tone for the team, they’re bringing the leadership."

Cuevas, the senior of the staff, said for whatever reason things have started to click for her this season. "I’m not really sure why, it just feels so right this year," Cuevas said. "The team feels good, everything feels good and it just feels right. I don’t know if it’s my senior year or what, but we’ve had a great year and it feels really good being out there.

"Everything feels right and everyone is working together and it’s clicking."

And the Cajun coaches have worked their differences to their advantage, alternating the two all season. Not only does it keep their arms fresh, it also forces opponents to have to adjust back-and-forth.

"I’m sure it does help," Cuevas said. "It gives the hitters something different every game. And they don’t know who they’re going to face the first game, because we don’t know.

"They can prepare for one of us and end up seeing the other one. I think it helps because we complement each other well."

Neither pitcher knows going into a series who will pitch when. In fact, the coaching staff doesn’t tell them until prior to the game.

"They give us enough time to warm up, and that’s about it," Bourgeois said. "Both of us go to sleep prepared for the game. It doesn’t matter who is pitching, we have to win, we have to come out with a ‘W’."