With college looming, Wolverton pitching with a purpose

When Machias senior Amy Wolverton takes the circle for the Bulldogs on Wednesday, she will have all the incentive she needs to pitch her best.

After being recruited by Springfield, the University of New England and St. Joseph’s College, Wolverton chose the physical therapy program offered by Quinnipiac College in Hamden, Conn.

Wolverton will receive a partial scholarship and is expected to become one of the top pitchers for Coach Frank Kafka’s NCAA Division II Lady Braves softball team.

Following a couple of visits to the college, during which she had the opportunity to learn about the physical therapy program and meet the coach and the team members, Wolverton’s mind was made up.

Quinnipiac had what the Machias National Honor Society co-president wanted, academically as well as athletically. Even though it is a 7 1/2-hour drive from home, the PT program with physics, chemistry and anatomy is worth it, she said. Plus, Kafka has told her she will get to play as a freshman.

Information from the school’s sports information office indicates Quinnipiac will be building next year. Competing in the Northeast 10 Conference, Quinnipiac was 7-6 in league play, 12-15 overall through Monday with 10 freshmen, two sophomores and five graduating seniors. Quinnipiac has been a middle-of-the-pack team, missing the four-team league playoff by one place the past several years, something Kafka hopes to change with Wolverton’s help.

Wolverton’s emergence as a college prospect is unusual. She decided softball was her best sport (she is a four-year varsity player in basketball and volleyball as well) and made up her mind to concentrate her efforts there.

Her dilligence, determination, and hard work paid off, and coaches started calling.

Speaking of the normal time frame it takes to become a pitcher, her pitching coach, Bob Mercer of Bucksport said, “Amy has no business being where she is. Her work ethic and inner desire to do well got her there.” Wolverton is a former third baseman who hit .479 last season.

She sought out Mercer between her freshman and sophomore years. “She said, I want to be a pitcher. I told her it was a two- or three-year process, depending on how hard she wanted to work,” Mercer said. “In one year’s time, over the course of the winter, playing no games, she was ready to pitch.”

That summer, Wolverton pitched every day, and her parents drove her to Bucksport once or twice a week for instruction. “The commitment came not only from her, but from her folks, too,” Mercer said.

After working with Mercer, attending Grand Slam softball camp, and pitching year-round, Wolverton has a drop, a changeup, a fastball, and is working on a rise and a curve.

“The end of her sophomore year, she could pitch,” Mercer said. “The end of her junior year she could pitch well. Now, she is pitching extremely well.”

Machias softball has not been particularly strong during Wolverton’s career, but she hopes to help it along. With college ball on the horizon, high school ball takes on more importance.

“It is definitely making me work harder to improve myself,” she said. “I want our team to win this year, and to make the tournament.”