The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Meet the freshmen: Blaire Luna
02.15.2010 | Softball
Feb. 15, 2010
Natalie England, TexasSports.com
AUSTIN, Texas -- By now, you probably know about Blaire Luna.
The Texas Softball team rolled to five-straight wins against ranked opponents to take the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational crown, and Luna was a major factor throughout.
In her first collegiate game, on Friday night against North Carolina, Luna hurled only the second no-hitter in a UT freshman debut, and the first since Natalie King did so on Feb. 7, 2001. Luna then followed that with three innings of no-hit relief against No. 13 LSU, and in Saturday night's tournament semifinals, she tossed a complete game and registered 17 strikeouts in a win over No. 20 DePaul.
In 20.0 innings of work, Luna logged three wins, one save and two complete games, and allowed just one run on five hits. She fanned 32 batters, touts a 0.35 ERA and her .083 opponent batting average is the best in the Big 12 Conference.
Head coach Connie Clark all but called this from the beginning. She promised that Luna, and fellow freshman hurler Kim Bruins, were "awfully special." Both pitchers proved their merit quickly.
"The main thing this weekend is we never gave up, even when we were behind," Luna said. "We just kept the energy up and didn't give up."
Luna has used a similar mindset throughout her entire softball career. She started at 10 years old, and wanted to play first base. When she was younger, Luna admits that her friends were usually chosen for teams before she was.
"I used that to my advantage, I guess," Luna said.
Indeed, Luna turned out to be a four-year letterwinner at Austin's Bowie High School, and twice she was named the Austin American-Statesman CenTex Player of the Year. As a high school senior, Luna finished with 27 wins, 316 strikeouts and a 0.55 ERA.
Already, Luna is fielding comparisons to legendary pitcher Cat Osterman. The timing was poetic, since DePaul, where Osterman is now the pitching coach, was also playing in UT's home tournament. After Luna's eight-inning no-hitter against North Carolina, Osterman sought Luna the next day and offered congratulations.
Luna says she deals with expectations by not paying attention to them. Luna says that she tries not to show "any emotion" on the diamond, and typically covers her emotions with a competitive mask that suggests she's mentally more mature than her age.
"It's hard to be a freshman and feel that much pressure. I obviously know because I was a freshman and in those shoes," Osterman said. "Hopefully that eases off, and she can be Blaire Luna and not the next coming of Cat Osterman."
Getting to know ... Blaire Luna
What is it like going to college in your hometown? I like it. My family is the biggest thing, and they can come watch me. I've always wanted to go to Texas, since I was little.
Who's an athlete you respect and admire? Cat Osterman, honestly. When I was younger, learning how to pitch, I watched videos of her and watched how she made certain pitches.
Have you talked to her much? Not that much. She came into the dugout after I threw the no-hitter, and she told me congratulations.
Do your teammates treat you like a freshman? No, not at all. We have really good team chemistry, and I think that's one thing that really helps me. We hang out, even when we're not playing. We just get along.
