With the Wildcats’ softball team picked as the preseason co-favorites to win the GNAC conference title, the team is starting the season on the right track. With several returning players, Central eyes an improvement of last year’s NCAA West Regional berth.

Pitcher, Lindsey Kamphuis, is expected to play a large part in the team’s success, holding many records at Kamiakin High School in Kennewick, Wash.

Some of her accomplishments include setting the school record for most strikeouts and most wins, best earned run average (ERA) pitching six perfect games.

“I think it clicked in middle school that I was like okay, this is something that I don’t want to end in high school, I couldn’t even fathom that it was going to end,” Kamphuis said. “It was too much fun to give up.”

Kamphuis also earned awards such as the Mid-Columbia Conference’s VP, first team All Conference, All-Area and All-State. She says her success at Kamiakin was in large part due to her coaches and teammates.

“I would attribute a lot to my dad, because he was my pitching coach,” Kamphuis said. “I also had a fabulous high school coach, and my catcher in high school, we were like the dynamic pitcher-catcher duo since sixth grade.”

There is no difficulty in seeing why the Wildcats see her as a crucial piece to their team. One of Kamphuis’ teammates, sophomore shortstop and outfielder Taylor Ferleman, gets to see first hand how gifted Kamphuis is.

“Lindsey is one of our key players; I think that any big game we have, she will start because she is one of our toughest players out there,” Ferleman said.

Kamphuis has already gotten off to a fast start, winning in her first game as a Wildcat in Las Vegas at the Desert Stinger.

When the Wildcats played the 19th ranked team in the nation, Humboldt State, Kamphuis allowed one hit through four innings, and finished all seven innings.

She gave up three runs on seven hits with six strikeouts as the Wildcats won 10-3. Head Coach Mallory Holtman-Fletcher liked everything about Kamphuis’ first game in over two years.

“Her presence, it’s fun to watch her pitch, her determination… When we got to the fourth inning she told us ‘I’m pitching the rest of this game’, she knew she had it,” Holtman-Fletcher said.

With one win already in the bag, Kamphuis was dominant, starting off 2-0 in her starts. The next game came the next day against Cal State-Dominguez Hills.

Coach Holman-Fletcher was very impressed with Kamphuis’ performance, in which she threw a two-hitter, allowing a mere three runs on the way to another 8-3 Wildcats win.

“That was a really good game, it could’ve been a one hitter,” Holtman-Fletcher said. “Lindsey’s approach doesn’t change, she’s always focused.”

Kamphuis is not only a skilled pitcher, but also a fun person to be around.

She is endeared by all of her teammates and those who know her. Ferleman says Lindsey is one of the funniest people she knows, but can also put her game face on and get serious when she needs to.

“Lindsey is really open and outgoing, and one of my best friends on the team,” Ferleman said. “She is one of the most determined people I’ve ever met; she works hard on and off the field and I definitely think it shows through her personality and how she performs in the game.”

Coach Holtman-Fletcher is excited to see how Kamphuis grows in her softball career, but appreciates who Kamphuis is as a person.

“She’s going to be strong for us, I’m excited to see what she does when we get into league and what she does with her career here,” Holtman-Fletcher said. “Her demeanor on the mound is one thing, but it is nice to get to know her personally… She is a funny, awesome person.”

With the Desert Stinger in the past and Central leaving Las Vegas with a great record of four wins and just one loss coming at the hands of third-ranked Dixie State, the Wildcats softball team has started the season on a good note.

Expectations are high for both the team and Kamphuis, but Kamphuis said she isn’t feeling pressured at all.

“I felt a little pressured because this is my first showing since my state championship in high school, and also a lot of pressure because I’m the D1 recruit,” Kamphuis said. “But as a pitcher, I love the pressure situations because that’s the best time to shine; I take that and use it as my momentum.”

Kamphuis transferred from Weber State University in Utah, which has helped her deal with the pressures of being a pitcher. Starting off the season with two straight wins and zero losses doesn’t hurt either. She knows the potential of this team and thinks that the Wildcats could taste the post-season once again this year.

“This team is really young, but we have really good team chemistry because we’re all really good friends and share everything with each other,” Kamphuis said. Our team goal is to make it to Nationals because we have all of the talent in the world to get there.”

The Wildcats will have a few days to rest before they are back at it again, preparing for their next games that will take place down in California, starting with a double-header against the Dominican University of California on Feb. 21.

The softball team doesn’t play in Ellensburg until March 13th, but Kamphuis enjoys proving herself on the road.

“I would prefer to play at home because you have your friends that can come and watch, but when you win on the road it makes a bigger statement,” Kamphuis said.

Kamphuis is a star on the softball team, but she has the team-first mentality that any coach would want. She could have an awesome game but she will still credit her teammates for the win.

“I did well this past weekend, but it all had to do with my team; they backed me up, got the hits when we needed them, and lifted the pressure off of me by making phenomenal plays,” Kamphuis said.