RAM-TASTIC: Jen Mineau, who has thrown seven career no-hitters, leads the Lady Rams into their second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.
No-nos are no problem for Jen Mineau, and Fordham is suddenly on the softball map because of it.
Paced by the junior right-hander’s eye-popping seven career no-hitters, the Lady Rams begin their second consecutive NCAA tournament appearance tomorrow against Penn State at State College, Pa.
Considering Fordham had never broken through to an NCAA berth before Mineau led it on a surprising run all the way to the regional final last year, the Rams know where to give thanks for their good fortune.
“Having Jen has just been huge for the whole program,” coach Bridget Orchard said yesterday as the 41-17 Lady Rams traveled to Happy Valley. “You’re talking about an All-American and one of the best players in the game. She’s really put us out there.”
Mineau has done it with her best Nolan Ryan impression. She threw two no-hitters as a freshman (in the same week, no less), three more last season (including two perfect games) and then another two no-nos this year as Fordham claimed its first-ever Atlantic 10 championship.
Orchard wishes she could say it was a recruiting coup landing Mineau from Schaghticoke, N.Y. (near Albany), three years ago, but it hardly took much persuading to get the four-time all-state selection.
Despite an accomplished career both in high school and on softball’s noted summer travel circuit, Mineau attracted zero attention from the sport’s powerhouses and saw her offers dwindle to Fordham when hometown University of Albany bowed out after a coaching change.
“I didn’t really put myself out there, either,” Mineau said yesterday. “I wasn’t the most active recruit. But I never doubted my abilities. I expected to come in and do well, if not right away then pretty quickly.”
Mineau’s instincts were spot on. She was dominant practically from day one, throwing two no-hitters in the first six weeks of her freshman season.
It’s almost an understatement to say Mineau is Fordham’s engine. She pitched all 24 innings of the Lady Rams’ recent sprint through the A-10 tournament, going 3-0 without giving up an earned run and tossing a one-hitter in the finale against St. Joseph’s.
Mineau, who went 23-7 as a junior, is so often unhittable because of a devastating curveball she mastered at tiny Hoosic Valley Central High School.
“I haven’t thrown a fastball since I was, like, 14,” she said.
Mineau’s height — she’s towering for the sport at 5-foot-9 — adds to the intimidation factor, and she keeps hitters off-balance by mixing in riseballs. The dropball is her most effective set-up pitch, but it’s that wicked curveball that so often leaves foes flustered and zeroes on the scoreboard.
“When it’s on, it’s on,” said Mineau, who has used that curve to move 13 no-hitters behind the all-time NCAA record set by her idol, former Texas great Cat Osterman. “That’s my go-to pitch.”