Starting Over : Broncos’ Lori Thompson Emerges as Team’s Leading Pitcher

Throughout most of her collegiate career, pitcher Lori Thompson of the Cal Poly Pomona women’s softball team has hardly been a center of attention.

Before this season, the 23-year-old senior’s playing time had been mostly limited to mop-up duty as a reliever and an occasional starter.

But with many of the starters lost to graduation, Thompson became a full-time starter this season and did not squander the opportunity.

She has been the team’s leading pitcher with a 19-7 record and an 0.64 earned-run average. Thompson has been even more impressive late in the season, not allowing an earned run in her last 54 innings.

While her emergence as a standout for the Broncos may be surprising to some people, Thompson says it is a result of growing more accustomed to her new role.

“I think toward the end of the season I’ve felt more relaxed and confident,” she said. “I think it’s because I’ve gotten the opportunity to pitch a lot this year. You can develop a consistency, whereas in the past I didn’t get to pitch that much.”

Thompson said being more relaxed and confident has meant everything to her performance.

“That’s been the main factor, because in the past I was a little more tentative in knowing that I wouldn’t get a chance to pitch a lot.”

She said it is a much different feeling than when she arrived in Pomona.

Thompson was a pitching star at Canyon High School in Anaheim and at San Diego State.

In high school, she was an All-CIF Southern Section and All-Orange County selection as a senior and made the All-Century League first team for two straight years.

As a senior she was recruited by a handful of Division I programs and selected San Diego State because it was the only school in California that offered her a scholarship.

In her freshman year with the Aztecs, Thompson posted a 15-9 record and 0.64 ERA and was selected the team’s outstanding freshman for 1985.

But she wasn’t thrilled with the idea of finishing her career at San Diego State, which has never been regarded as a Division I power. So she decided to transfer.

“I wanted to play in a top-quality softball program,” she said. “Our high school team was always one of the top. So being used to winning, I wasn’t satisfied with being under .500 and not making the playoffs. I wanted to go somewhere where I could make the playoffs and have good coaching.”

Pomona, which was closer to home and has reached the Division I playoffs eight straight years, fit the description.

“I knew a couple of players on the Pomona team from summer ball. So seeing how they played made me pretty excited about coming here.”

After sitting out the next season as a redshirt under NCAA transfer rules, Thompson saw limited duty in her first two seasons with the Broncos.

“When I came here Rhonda Wheatley was in her senior year and I didn’t expect to pitch that much, and last year we had two other pitchers who expected to pitch a lot,” she said.

As a sophomore, Thompson posted a 4-2 record and 1.13 ERA with nine saves in 80 2/3 innings while the All-American Wheatley handled the bulk of the pitching.

“I pitched mostly in relief at the beginning of the year,” she said. “I started a few games, but once we got into the season Rhonda pitched most of the games.”

Last season, pitching 86 innings, she had a 9-3 record and 0.81 ERA with seven saves.

She said the infrequent playing time was not easy to accept at first. “It was difficult to adjust to not pitching all the time,” she said. “It took a lot to get used to, but I think in the long run it was worth it.”

With the departure of the team’s top starter from last season, Kris Rokosz, Thompson knew she would pitch more in her final year with the Broncos.

“I knew I would get to pitch a lot. We lost a lot of people from last year so I came into the season ready to pitch a lot.”

At 5-foot-2, Thompson is one of the shortest players on the team. She said her size may have been a reason why the top Division I programs didn’t recruit her from high school.

“That was the only time I’ve ever been told, ‘Oh, you’re too small,’ ” she said. “But it’s never bothered me.”

Thompson says her size doesn’t create a disadvantage as a pitcher.

“I don’t think that makes much difference as long as you’re strong in the mechanical aspects,” she said. “I have always wondered what it would be like if I was 5-8, though.”

She said her best pitches are the rise ball and curve ball, although she also throws a knuckle ball. She said that “since they moved the mound back to 43 feet, it’s affected my speed. So it’s made me made me more concerned about my location and my pitches.”

Thompson is happy with the skills she has developed as a pitcher. With her college career winding down, her only regret is that she will not have much longer to pitch for the Broncos.

“It’s hard for me since this is the first year that I’ve gotten a chance to pitch a lot,” she said. “I have mixed emotions about this being my senior year. One side is ready to go on to other things, but the other side wants to pitch a little more.”

Thompson said she will probably concentrate on her studies as an exercise science major. She is hoping for a career in physical therapy and sports rehabilitation--a subject she became acutely aware of when she was in her redshirt year.

“I injured my back near the end of my freshman year and that’s when I got interested in physical therapy and rehabilitation of injuries.”

Thompson doesn’t want to think about that at the moment, though. Her thoughts are focused on the NCAA regionals where the eighth-ranked Broncos (40-21) will square off against fourth-ranked Cal State Fullerton (47-13) in a best-of-three series Friday and Saturday in Fullerton.

The winner advances to the Division I World Series the following week at Sunnyvale.

Thompson pitched in only one game in the World Series last season when the Broncos finished third in the nation. She said this year’s team is different.

“Last year we were a power team and this team has to play well together to win,” she said. “But we feel we have the potential to beat Cal State Fullerton. We can go to the World Series again if we play well together.”