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Erin Gabriel is perfect Volunteer
Former Poland star adds another gem to Tennessee legacy
By Tom Williams
The author of a perfect game as well as a no-hitter in college, its hard to imagine Tennessee senior pitcher Erin Gabriel getting too flustered on the mound.
But on March 22 against Jacksonville, the 2012 Poland High School graduate admits she was nervous.
“I won’t lie, I felt [pressure],” said The Vindicator’s Female Athlete of the Year in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Gabriel had retired the first 14 Jacksonville batters. Ahead 10-0, she was one out away from her second perfect game as a Volunteer.
Why the nerves? The final Dolphins batter worked the count to 3-2 and Karen Weekly, Tennessee’s co-head coach, called for a changeup.
“My hand was legitimately shaking, of all the pitches to call,” Gabriel said with a laugh. After the changeup was fouled it off, Weekly called for a riseball.
Game over.
The perfect game was the 14th in Tennessee history. Gabriel said she didn’t realize she had a perfect game going until she was sent out for the fifth inning. In midweek games, the Volunteers use multiple pitchers and she was expecting the hook.
Because the Weeklys (Ralph and Karen) like to keep their pitchers on edge, Gabriel said she usually has no idea “when I’m gonna start. I sometimes get to the field and still don’t know. And we know we can be pulled and then go back into the game.”
She wouldn’t have it any other way. From the top-notch competition in the SEC to her coaches, Gabriel is in love with the Volunteer State.
At first, she admits, it was difficult adjusting to the mystery schedule. She was a four-year starter for Poland when the Bulldogs made three state appearances and won the Division II state championship in 2011. During her senior season, Poland coach Reid Lamport shared some starts with classmate Jenna Modic — now at the University of Pittsburgh — so splitting time was not new.
But adjusting to the uncertainty “was really difficult. Now I’m so used to being pulled and then being back in.”
This weekend, the No. 17 Volunteers are in Columbia, Mo., to play No. 15 Missouri for a three-game set. Today’s game at noon will be televised by ESPNU. Sunday’s game will be on the SEC Network.
Because most of the Volunteers’ games are televised, Gabriel has become used to cameras following her during warmups.
She’s also become used to waiting.
“I work quickly so the coaches had to help slow me down,” said Gabriel of the two-minute break between half-innings for commercials. Pitchers are advised when there are 60 seconds remaining in each break.
Gabriel calls televised games “awesome,” explaining that she regularly receives texts from Mahoning Valley supporters who see her games.
“For us, every weekend [features NCAA] super-regional competition,” said Gabriel, who says Florida is her top rival “because they’ve been back-to-back champions. They’ve been so good the past few years I’ve been here.”
Gabriel’s future is up in the air. After a 5-1 start as a freshman, she was shut down by a labral tear on her left hip. Surgery ended her season and a long recovery followed.
In January, Gabriel applied to the NCAA for a medical redshirt for that interrupted freshman season. She’s awaiting the decision.
“I could have another year [of eligibility],” Gabriel said. “It’s a toss-up — hopefully, we’ll know soon.”
The recovery from hip surgery has been a challenge.
“It took me a long time to pitch decently,” Gabriel said.
After going 5-0 as a sophomore, she posted 17 wins last year including the perfect game against Eastern Tennessee and a no-hitter against Illinois State.
Last year, she was given cortisone shots before games. This year, she doesn’t need the painkiller as her Volunteers coaches have limited running and eliminated batting.
“I’ve made adjustments this year and am pain-free,” she said. “I miss hitting and fielding. I didn’t plan to only be a pitcher [in college] but those are the cards I’ve been dealt.”
She’s not sure if her softball days are ending.
“There area lot of variables, I want to see how my hip holds up, if it’s better,” said Gabriel who was 13-3 with a 2.38 earned average and 114 strikeouts heading into the weekend.
This much is certain: In May, Gabriel will graduate with a degree in nutrition but she has her sights set on more classes.
“I wanted to be sports dietitian,” Gabriel said of her original plan.
But what she went through as a patient opened her eyes to a postgraduate degree in physical therapy.
She plans to take some courses this summer at Youngstown State University to qualify for graduate school. If her Tennessee playing days are over, graduate school in California is a possibility.