Late in the game
KUTZTOWN — Monica Glomb doesn't want to think about it.
Mention it and the Mars High graduate and senior pitcher for the Kutztown University softball team shushes you abruptly.
The impending end of her softball career, it seems, is a sore subject for her.
“It kind of stinks,” Glomb said.
The end is nowhere near for Glomb these days. The only thing she is finishing off is opposing hitters.
Glomb is 9-2 with a 1.61 ERA after picking up both wins in a doubleheader against Millersville Tuesday.
Glomb tossed a two-hit shutout in the second game for Kutztown, which is 23-4 and ranked No. 11 in Division II.
During her days with the Planets, Glomb was a power pitcher, wracking up 255 strikeouts.
At Kutztown, she has evolved into a finesse pitcher, relying on a changeup as her out pitch.
“She has great movement and she has mastered a number of pitches,” said Kutztown coach Judy Lawes, who recently earned her 700th victory. “Her changeup, though, is something special.”
Glomb always has had an eclectic arsenal of pitches, and she is apt to throw any of them in any count.
That versatility has allowed Glomb to record 43 victories, 357 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.58 in her career with the Golden Bears.
Glomb is off to the best start of her career this season.
“Monica is as good as she has ever been,” Lawes said.
A new weightlifting program has been a part of that. Glomb said she lifted three days a week to get ready for the season.Kutztown has faded late in the season the last few years and hitting the weight room was the solution Lawes and her coaches came up with to prevent it from happening again.“We're really working on our endurance,” Glomb said. “It's really helped. I feel a lot stronger at this point of the season than I ever have.”Whether that results in an elusive NCAA Atlantic Regional Championship remains to be seen.The Golden Bears lost in the regional last season and fell in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament in 2008 and 2009.Kutztown is 141-43 in the last three-plus seasons.A captain in 2011, Glomb has taken it upon herself to be more of a leader.“She's just like this little sweet-looking kid,” Lawes said. “Then she gets on the mound, gets that look on her face and then mows them down. She pitches quick and she is relentless.“She's all girlie girl, but when she's between the lines, she's all business,” Lawes added.Just don't remind Glomb that her business will be over in a few months.She said she will dearly miss the days of winding up her powerful right arm on the softball field.“Yeah,” she says, pausing. “That's a good way to put it.”
