Wendy Allen
Year: senior
Position: pitcher, first base, designated player
From: Moreno Valley, Calif.
After she lit up the opposing pitching staffs this weekend, including No. 6 Georgia, No. 7 Alabama and No. 17 Cal State Fullerton, Wendy Allen was named Pacific 10 Player of the Week. Last week, Allen hit .625 (10 of 16), scoring seven runs and knocking in 12 RBIs. From the circle, Allen (3-0) tossed a two-hit shutout against Penn State, striking out nine in six innings of work, despite being hampered by a wrist injury.
On the season, the former Big Ten freshman and Ohio State player of the year is hitting .545 and leads the team with 31 RBIs. Allen was drafted in the third round of the National Fastpitch (NFP) draft by the Arizona Heat.
Allen gave her bat a break to talk to the Wildcat about facing herself, the awkwardness of being drafted before her senior year and why Maurice Clarett doesn't deserve a Buckeye.
Wildcat: How does your wrist feel?
ALLEN: My wrist feels OK; it's better. I'm not pitching a lot still. I pitch about one game a weekend.
Wildcat: Does your knee injury (blown out ACL, MCL, and meniscus in high school) still affect you?
ALLEN: No, actually, I just deal with that one; it's doing a lot better. I don't play first (base) a lot. I don't pitch a lot. I just hit. The weather affects it a little bit, but I just tend to deal with it.
Wildcat: Which do you like better, pitching or batting?
ALLEN: Well, before I got hurt, I loved to pitch. It was fun. I mean, most of the time I'm pitching between 60 and 80 percent against the best batters in the nation, so it's sort of frustrating, whereas hitting ÷ even though I'm hurt, you still can't take it away. Right now, hitting is definitely more fun.
Wildcat: Either now or before, what would happen if you faced yourself?
ALLEN: If I faced myself? Oh I would way strike out because I am no good against lefties (laughs).
Wildcat: What's your favorite other UA team?
ALLEN: My favorite other UA team? (looks at the photographer, laughs) I'd have to say football, just because I know some of the players and I went to high school with (sophomore safety) Darrell Brooks.
Wildcat: Do you have any friends that know Maurice Clarett? That's kind of the big story right now in college sports.
ALLEN: Do I know anybody that knows him? Oh definitely, that's the guy at Ohio State, yeah?
Wildcat: Yeah, what do you think?
ALLEN: He let his team down. I know that their players · they just tend to deal with problems that we can't possibly have. Everybody knows what they got.
Wildcat: Can you talk about the pros, the NPF (National Pro Fastpitch)?
ALLEN: Well, I really don't know much. I know I was drafted third and since I'm still eligible for college, I can't really talk to them about money or anything. We can't talk about contracts or where I would play or any of that. I know I'm excited. I'm really looking forward to it. It's going to be a blast. I actually got to look up the schedule yesterday, and we have games after games, it seems like every day. I think it's going to be fun.
Wildcat: I talked to the manager, and she said she is pretty excited about their draft, the Heat's draft.
ALLEN: Yeah, it looks fun. I think it's going to be really cool because I'm going to play with alumni like (UA interim associate head coach) Nancy Evans, Leah Braatz, and the coach is an old ex-Arizona player, and even like Lisha (Ribiella), who graduated this year. It will be really fun.
Wildcat: What are your
superstitions?
ALLEN: Well, on my cleats I have bows on them. I also have this butterfly on my cleats from Ohio State that I keep on there. This year, I wore a green hair tie, but the green hair tie's not working too well.
Wildcat: How come?
ALLEN: Just because they stretch out. Then I wear blue eyeliner, glitter (laughs) ÷ a lot of other things. Pretty much it's just a preparation, like game day. There's a certain way to do things, all of that.