PHILADELPHIA, PA. 5/15/2012 – “Taryn Ashway delivers Dockins swings. Ground ball to short, Palase fields flips to Moran in time to end the game. Saint Joseph’s wins the game 2 – 0. Ashway gets the save. Winning Pitcher Erin Gallagher gives up two hits strikes out seven, and sets the school record for career wins with 63.”
That’s how it would have sounded over the airwaves; however Saint Joseph’s Senior pitcher Erin Gallagher did set the school record with that win surpassing Christina Kowlaski who set the previous record for wins in 2000. However, it is not the number or the accomplishments that drive Gallagher. After the game it was the win over Saint Louis that mattered. What she accomplished will be celebrated at a later time.
“It will be nice to look back on it in a couple of years,” Gallagher said. “Most importantly we are fighting for a conference (tournament) spot with Saint Louis, so to beat them is more important.”
The Food Marketing major has many accomplishments on the softball field. For her career she has a 66 – 39 record. In 692.2 innings pitched Gallagher struck out 632 batters in her career in the circle for the Hawks. The native of Abington, PA started 106 games, and pitched 45 complete games. Erin ranks first in all of the above categories. Gallagher has a career Earned Run Average under 2 as she helped the Hawks to the third game of the Atlantic 10 Tournament. In the Atlantic 10 Gallagher was 2 – 1 with a .9 ERA, struck out 7, and was named to the All-Tournament team. It will not be the numbers that Gallagher will remember when she thinks of her four years on Hawk Hill; it will be teammates and her entire experience as a Hawk softball player.
“We’re really fun on the road,” Gallagher said when asked about what will be her fondest memory. “We were at Saint Louis last year when a hurricane came through. We were in the middle of it at a restaurant. We had to duck and cove. We drove back because the airport was destroyed. We had a seventeen hour drive. The bus rides were so good. It was a lot of fun.”
Gallagher gave her team a fun time, not so for the opposition. Starting as Freshman Gallagher had an immediate impact on her team. The right hander struck out five and gave up two hits in her first collegiate win over George Mason. As a Sophomore she threw a no-hitter against Penn and against Saint Louis in the Atlantic 10 Tournament Gallagher struck out a career-high eighteen batters. In her Junior season it was another no-hitter against George Washington. This season Gallagher pitched a complete game, one hit, shutout against Rider.
Her place on the mound is where Gallagher feels the most at home. It is where she wants to be, pitcher vs. batter. Gallagher wants it on her shoulders.
“It’s a lot of pressure,” Gallagher said. “If you mess up there is no one to blame but yourself. You control the game. I’m used to it. I live for that kind of thing. It’s tough, but when you do well, it takes the pressure off.”
And she has earned the respect and confidence of her Coach Terri Adams.
“I’ll take my chances with Erin in any game,” said Adams. “She has more heart than a majority of any of the kids I’ve coached. If we are going to win a ball game, I want it with her.”
Gallagher excels in the classroom. She has been a Saint Joseph’s University Athletic Director’s and Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll member. Gallagher was selected to receive the Saint Joseph’s Class of 1950 Award that goes to the student-athlete as the school’s top graduating senior. The future lies in front of Erin Gallagher. What will happen has yet to be written. If the past is any indicator of the future she will hit the strike zone in the game of life as well. And she will, most likely, enjoy the ride.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact Glenn@Phillycollegesports.com
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