Softball | 04/06/2022

Facing an unexpected lack of depth on her team's pitching staff, College of Saint Benedict softball coach Rachael Click had an idea this preseason.
 
It involved asking All-MIAC first-team pick Gabby Spencer – one of the conference's top hitters – to lend a hand at a position in which she excelled during her prep career at Roseville (Minnesota) High School.
 
But with Spencer now settled in as a college outfielder, Click was reluctant to broach the subject.
 
That is, until Spencer made it easy on her.
 
"We had two pitchers who decided not to come out this spring, and that left us a little short-handed," said Click, whose team is off to a 13-2 start. "Gabby saw that and she actually approached me to ask if I wanted her to start throwing again.
 
"That was great because I had been a little nervous about asking her. She did such a great job in high school, but she's had so much success in college as an outfielder that I didn't know if she'd closed the chapter on pitching in her mind."
 
It turns out, Spencer hasn't. Not entirely anyway.


While she has continued to excel with the bat, leading her team in hitting with a .488 average so far this season, she has managed to mix in several pitching appearances as well.
 
"It's been a little weird to be pitching to batters again after two-and-a-half years," said Spencer, who currently boasts a 2.33 ERA. "It took some getting used to, especially when it came to getting my motion back. But now I feel like I have all my motion pitches working again.
 
"It sort of was like riding a bike. After I did it a couple of times, it all came back to me."
 
Spencer, a double major in biology and pre-physical therapy, looked at a number of schools during the recruiting process. But she said the atmosphere she experienced at CSB made her decision easy.
 
"I looked at a few schools that would have been a little closer to home, but when I came on a tour to Saint Ben's, it felt like home to me," she said. "Everybody was so welcoming. There was such a great community feel here."
 
Softball, meanwhile, runs in her family. Spencer's father Tom is currently the head coach at Mounds View (Minnesota) High School, and he coached his daughter all through junior high in Roseville.
 
"Really, I never had a different coach until I got into high school and club teams," she said. "He was always working with me and helping me improve my game. Even now, in the summer we'll go out there and he'll help fine-tune my skills. He's had a huge impact in making me into the player I am now."
 
That player is pretty darn good. After earning all-section and team MVP honors as a senior at Roseville in 2019, she made an immediate impact for the Bennies - starting all 14 games as a first-year player in 2020 before the onset of COVID-19 brought the season to an abrupt close.
 
As a sophomore a year ago, she led the MIAC with five triples and ranked among the league leaders in hits (37) and home runs (four).
 
She's hasn't slowed down any this spring.  Already, she boasts a team-best 21 hits, including five doubles, three triples and three home runs.
 
"I still consider myself an outfielder primarily," she said. "But I want to go wherever I can help the team most."
 
At times, that will likely include pitching.
 
"I think it says a lot about her that she's willing to do that," Click said. "She's such a team player. And having a player like her, who can do so many different things successfully, just makes us stronger."

Spencer and her teammates take the field three times this week, starting Friday, April 8, for a MIAC doubleheader against Carleton. First pitch is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. in St. Joseph.