Bonnie Bynum’s Career Pitching Stats (2007 stats through Tech’s first 37 games)

Year W-L ERA Strikeouts

2004 14-6 1.30 151

2005 24-17 1.49 232

2006 31-10 1.08 308

2007 17-6 1.75 189

Totals 86-39 1.40 880

The good news for other Ohio Valley Conference softball teams is Tennessee Tech pitcher Bonnie Bynum graduates after the season.

The bad news for Bynum’s opponents is she still has 28 regular season games left to confuse and befuddle opposing hitters.

Which is something the Fayetteville, Ga., native has done during her successful career at Tech.

The 5-foot-8 right-hander holds the record for career wins at Tech (86), career strikeouts (867) and innings pitched (858).

And she broke all of those records before entering her senior season.

Now, Bynum (17-6, with 189 strikeouts and a 1.75 ERA this year) and Tech (27 -10, 5-0 OVC) are trying to secure its fourth NCAA Tournament berth in the program’s last five years.

Much of the credit can be pinpointed to the pitcher Tech head coach Tory Acheson, in his ninth year at Tech, calls “the finest pitcher I’ve coached in my career.”

“She isn’t the intimidating flamethrower you’d expect,” he said. “She can throw any of her pitches in almost any situation so it is difficult for the opposition to anticipate anything specific.”

Eastern senior catcher Sandyn Short said Bynum dictates what the hitters see.

“With Bonnie Bynum, she kind of has her main, go-to pitches,” Short said, “So instead of doing what you would do with a weaker pitcher looking for your pitch, you have to plan to her pitch because that’s the one you’re going to see.”

Her main go-to pitch is an inside or outside curveball, a pitch that appears to come straight at a hitter.

Eastern sophomore pitcher Kathleen Jacoby said throwing an inside curveball requires the pitcher to step farther out with their lead foot (in Bynum’s case, this would be her left foot) and aim at the hitter’s backside.

“A lot of people bail because it looks like it’s going to hit you and it breaks right over the plate,” Short said. “And then she can throw the same pitch on the outside.”

Bynum uses the inside curveball against right-handed hitters and the outside curveball to left-handed hitters.

Bynum’s numbers this year have actually dipped compared to year’s past. If the season ended today, Bynum’s 1.75 ERA would be her highest in her four seasons at Tech.

But Bynum also contributes at the plate. She is hitting .311, fourth on the team, and has 4 home runs and 31 RBIs this season.

“I think Bynum is just as good as she was last year,” said Eastern head coach Kim Schuette, who is 0-7 against Tech as Eastern’s head coach, with Bynum winning five of those games. “But I think now she has the offense, in her own swing, as well as one through nine. They have offense to back her up like crazy.”

The Golden Eagles’ offense is led this year by junior shortstop Beth Boden (.405 average, 13 home runs, 37 RBIs) and junior catcher Stephanie Fisher (.355 average, 6 home runs, 20 RBIs).

Combine this potent offense, which hits .285 as a team and has 44 home runs and 197 RBIs through its first 37 games (Tech’s opponents are batting .230, with 17 home runs and 91 RBIs), with a difficult non-conference schedule that Acheson said he planned (Tech has already beaten Indiana, Mississippi State, Florida State and Nebraska) and it’s clear why the Golden Eagles are the OVC favorite.

But the majority of the success Tech has had during Bynum’s career can be traced directly to her.

“She’s definitely the toughest (pitcher) to hit that I’ve seen,” Schuette said. “She’s frustrating to hitters and to coaches because you wonder why you’re not hitting her, wondering why you’re not putting the ball in play.”

But opposing coaches, like Schuette, won’t have to worry too much longer about Bynum’s continued dominance.

The thought of Bynum not pitching next year brought a slight grin to Schuette’s face.

“She’s earned her keep in the OVC, but we’re ready for someone else,” she said.