Hempfield's Ryan relishes new reliever role at Notre Dame

The new Morgan Ryan no longer strikes out batters at a dizzying rate.

The Hempfield graduate and Notre Dame sophomore no longer starts every important game.

Don’t think for a second, though, she’s no longer an effective and valuable player.

Ryan has established herself as the primary reliever for the Fighting Irish, going 1-1 with two saves and a team-leading 2.51 ERA in 16 games. She has 18 strikeouts in 30²⁄₃ innings.

The new role is a significant adjustment for Ryan, the 2017 Gatorade Pennsylvania Softball Player of the Year who led Hempfield to two straight PIAA championships and three straight WPIAL titles, but she has embraced it.

“I love coming in kind of toward the end of the game,” Ryan said. “I really go at the hitters. I think it’s so fun catching them off-guard. They’ve seen whoever was pitching for five innings and start getting into a rhythm with that pitcher, and then I get to come in and change it up with different pitch sequences, different movement, different speed.”

The speed is what Notre Dame coach Deanna Gumpf said she likes most. The Fighting Irish’s two main starting pitchers are more “spinners,” so opponents can have trouble adjusting to the harder-throwing Ryan, who tops out at 67 mph.

“She has everything,” said Gumpf, whose team is 19-11 overall and 3-4 in the ACC. “Her drop-ball is her game. I love, love her drop-ball because it’s heavy, it’s strong and it’s hard. Our No. 1 focus is to get that to be a strike because her drop-ball is her everything.”

Ryan has started three games this season and earned her first collegiate win Feb. 8 against Liberty, allowing one run and five hits in five innings. Gumpf didn’t rule out using Ryan as a starter more in the future.

“She does a great job of saying, ‘Give me the ball. Let me throw it. I’ll do whatever I have to do,’ ” Gumpf said. “She just wants the ball. It doesn’t matter when it is for her.”

Ryan is excited to be contributing following a freshman season she described as “humbling.” After completing one of the most dominant careers in Westmoreland County history — she went 22-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 199 strikeouts in 140 innings as a senior — she quickly found out the jump from the WPIAL to the ACC was more like a quantum leap.

“You think that you’re ready to perform, and then you realize how different things are at so many levels,” said Ryan, who recorded a 5.42 ERA in seven appearances as a freshman.

“As a pitcher, you just have to find a way to get people out. There are few players who are dominant strikeout pitchers. Me, personally, I found out I was not going to be a strikeout pitcher. My role was to go out there and locate the ball, spin the ball and force hitters to do what I wanted them to do with it.”

Ryan was a quick study. She focused on tightening that spin in the offseason, resulting in better movement on her pitches. This season, Gumpf said it’s obvious Ryan is more confident, and the results are showing.

“You can tell them and tell them and tell them (about pitching), but they really do have to live and learn,” Gumpf said. “I think the sooner they get in there, the more innings they get, the faster they learn. The game is a lot different.”

Being in South Bend, Ind., makes it tough for her family to attend games, but Notre Dame visits Pitt on April 27-29. Those in attendance might also notice a player whose demeanor is less steely. At Hempfield, Ryan often dominated the opposition in robotic fashion.

“In high school, I was all business,” Ryan said. “No smile. Pitch, turn around, throw again. This year, I try to communicate more to my team, enjoy being out there because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“I try to turn around, take in the fans, appreciate that I get to pitch against some of the top programs in the country. I’m definitely trying to be more loose and have more fun with it while still finding that balance of being that fierce competitor with the icy-cold mentality.”