With a new head coach, the Wisconsin softball program is counting on its veterans to be leaders.

Unfortunately, that means placing a lot of stock in a very young group of athletes as Yvette Healy enters her first year at the helm of the program. Three seniors and two juniors are the only upperclassmen UW has, so the group of eight returning sophomores and six new freshmen will bear an enormous amount of pressure.

Thus, Wisconsin’s confidence is concentrated on perhaps its most important unit, its pitching staff.

Freshman Cassandra Darrah and sophomore Meghan McIntosh recognize the responsibility that lies in their gloves, but both young pitchers handle the pressure with composure. McIntosh is naturally more comfortable as she has one more year of experience with the program. Much of her previous year was spent as a relief pitcher behind starting senior, Letty Olivarez.

McIntosh is excited to transition into a new role, however demanding it may be. She is grateful she had a role model like Olivarez to learn from in preparation for her newfound leadership position.

“[Olivarez] was a big influence last year and she really helped me get going,” McIntosh said.

McIntosh is determined to make the transition from relief to starting pitcher as seamless as possible. Her strong performances this season have proved her reliability to the team.

Out of 29 appearances last season, McIntosh started just 12. This season, she has started three out of the six games the Badgers have competed so far, contributing two wins to the team’s 4-2 record.

“I really just have to pick up the role after her and keep it going and encourage the freshman pitchers behind me,” McIntosh said.

The task of stepping into Olivarez’s position of not only starting pitcher but also as a role model and leader of the team is simple for McIntosh. She learned extremely valuable lessons from Olivarez by watching her from the bench.

“She had a lot of movement and showed that speed doesn’t really matter in the mental part of the game,” McIntosh said.

For McIntosh, becoming a stronger and more consistent pitcher is only half of what her new status on the team entails. She inherited the responsibility of handling breakdowns off the field. McIntosh admits this was one of Olivarez’s strengths, and she is thankful to have learned this aspect of the game from her.

“The mental part of the game involves picking each other up after something happens,” McIntosh said.

McIntosh aspires to motivate and teach her younger teammates just as Olivarez did for her. Specifically, she hopes to mentor freshman pitcher Darrah.

Darrah has moved into a position McIntosh was in last year. McIntosh knows how much she appreciated all of Olivarez’s advice, so she wants Darrah to feel comfortable coming to her for guidance.

“She doesn’t really come to me that much, but I try to encourage her to come to me if she has any questions,” McIntosh said.

Similar to McIntosh, Darrah has made a big transition this year as well. Moving from high school athletics to college programs can be challenging for any athlete. Not only is schoolwork more time consuming, but coaches have higher expectations for their athletes with regards to performance and commitment. At the collegiate level, the talent is elevated. Darrah expressed the movement into an overall more competitive environment has not been easy.

“Its been pretty stressful because I played softball in the summer when I didn’t have school and didn’t have to worry about that,” Darrah said.

Now that she has experienced a full semester and has had time to adjust, Darrah feels more comfortable. However, there are aspects of her game that are still unfamiliar.

Darrah was an elite pitcher in high school. Now everyone is elite, and she is no longer a standout athlete. With this has come less strikeouts since her overall strategy has changed.

“Now, people hit, so I’m looking for ground balls and pop ups,” Darrah said.

This more talented and competitive softball atmosphere has been discouraging. Fellow pitcher McIntosh along with the coaching staff have been comforting, and have offered as much encouragement as they can.

“She’s just been supportive, all of them really have. We are all like a huge family,” Darrah said.

McIntosh finds a support system in the family-like atmosphere, as well.

Everyone involved in the program has a very positive attitude about this year, as they are excited about what Healy will bring to the program. So far, she has made nothing but positive changes.

“It has changed,” McIntosh said. “We really prepare more. The mentality has changed, we are very positive.”

Sometimes, there is a different strategy involved when the team is so young, but Healy has no problem with the youth.

Being an underclassman, McIntosh defends her young team. She claims age doesn’t matter; it’s all about what a team brings to the field. Out there, the only significant number is the one on the scoreboard.

“We are young but we still work together and we play big,” McIntosh said. “We may be young in age, but we perform on high standards.”