ERIE — Her numbers were off the charts — and now she's off the team.

But that's a good thing for Slippery Rock High School graduate Cheyenne Hindman, who recently completed her freshman and only softball season at Mercyhurst North East.

Hindman hit .397 at the plate and had a 2.37 earned run average on the mound for the Saints. She was 21-10 in the circle and helped lead her team to a 41-17 record.

She is moving on to Mercyhurst University in the fall.

“We hate to lose her, but Cheyenne earned this opportunity,” North East coach Brian Dewey said. “She had an outstanding year for us.

“They (Mercyhurst) followed her all year and snapped her up.”

Hindman actually received three Division II offers as California (Pa.) and Slippery Rock also sought her services. Hindman is majoring in psychology.

“I was in close contact with Mercyhurst all year, sending them my stats and updating them on things,” she said. “They were genuinely interested in me and I feel comfortable going over to that school.

“I can't say this was my plan when I first came to North East. Things just worked out for me.”

She wound up making All-East Region and all-conference for the Saints.

When she wasn't pitching, she played third base. She drilled 11 homers and had 39 RBI to go with her .397 batting average. Hindman had 15 doubles, two triples, nine stolen bases and a .471 on-base percentage.

“She has a lot of power, but she hit in the leadoff spot for us,” Dewey said. “Cheyenne really struggled during our Florida trip to start the season. Her bat heated up just before the midway point of the season.

“Hitting the ball the other way had been one of her weak spots, but she worked on that and really improved in that area as the season went on.”

Most people figured Hindman could hit at the college level. The questiion was whether she could pitch.

Hindman herself wondered about that.

“A lot of people doubted I'd ever be able to pitch in college and I wasn't sure about it, either,” she said. “I just kept working at it. My junior year in high school, I began improving in the circle.

“I became confident I could begin to own hitters.”

Hindman threw 20 complete games this year. She allowed 179 hits in 189.1 innings, striking out 131 and walking only 30.

“It can be tough on softball pitchers to make the adjustment from high school to collegiate competition as a freshman,” Dewey said. “Cheyenne's command of the strike zone helped her to make that transition.

“Cheyenne's best pitch was her change-up. She could throw it any time in the count and she put it where she wanted it. That's rare for a college freshman.”

The change-up developed into more of an off-speed curveball.

“Our pitching coach worked with me on that and as I experimented with it, I really liked that pitch,” Hindman said. “It became very effective for me.”

Dewey has 535 wins and only 226 losses in 17 years at Mercyhurst North East. He earned Hindman's respect in a hurry.

“I have nothing but good things to say about that man,” she said. “He was always straight with me, honest with me. I could always talk to him and he made me a better player.”

Now Hindman is headed to a Mercyhurst team that won just nine of 43 games this year. The Lakers were 3-17 in PSAC play.

Those numbers don't bother her at all.

“You bring in players to make a difference,” Hindman said. “I want to be one of the leaders of a change there. I want to be there for my teammates.

“Coach (Leanne) Baker told me I'll be given a chance to pitch, but it's up to me to do my job and keep that spot. And if I hit well enough, they'll find a position for me to play when I'm not pitching.”

Either way, playing Division II softball won't be too big of a stage for Hindman.

“I've been preparing for this all my life,” she said of college softball. “I'm just thankful I got the opportunity.”