The first time Gabby Scott faced off at the plate against Ryley Nihart in high school, she hit a home run.
After that, Scott began to struggle against the young pitcher whom she would often face because they played in the same district. Scott said this developed into a dislike for Nihart.
“I just did not like her, because she was just so good and she was one of my least favorite pitchers to hit off of,” Scott said.
Today, Scott sees plenty of Nihart’s pitching — not as a hitter, but as a catcher for her at Wichita State. The two freshmen are softball teammates, roommates and have grown into good friends.
“I was just excited that I didn’t have to hit off of her anymore,” Scott said about becoming Nihart’s teammate.
Nihart hails from Alvin, Texas, while Nihart is from Engleton, a half-hour drive away. Upon their arrival at Wichita State, neither player was expected to make a major impact.
However, both Scott and Nihart have grown into key roles on the team as they’ve also grown their relationship with each other.
Mirrored experiences
Nihart and Scott both struggled during the fall season, with a mirroring root cause: a lack of confidence.
Nihart said she struggled to adapt to college softball. She is at her best when she hits her spots and trusts her defense, but when she played during the fall, she said she was doing too much.
“I think I’m really hard on myself,” Nihart said. “So, like, not performing well, really, like, I was upset about that, and it affected me, and I couldn’t really figure it out.”
It wasn’t until the winter break that she found herself again.
“I think I really just reset myself and wanted to come into the season with a fresh slate and just restart that,” Nihart said. “And I think that’s what I did, and I think that’s what also kind of helped me fall into this position, is just resetting and coming back the way that I should have.”
One day, Scott was catching Nihart during a bullpen session. Noticing her struggles, Scott told Nihart to find the pitcher that she had struggled to hit back in high school.
“She was like, ‘You were a completely different person than (you were in high school), like, ‘Where’s that girl?’” Nihart said. “‘Like, you need to bring her back out.’ And I think that’s kind of when I realized, too, like, okay, I need to go back to what I knew that I could do and what I was good at.”
Scott similarly struggled early in the year. Between being away from her family for the first time, lingering injuries and self-doubt, Scott took some time to adjust to the team. She also worried initially about making friends.
“I’ve never been the new girl to the team,” Scott said. “I’ve never had to make friends … Once I was able to build those relationships with everybody, then that’s when I got better.”
Scott started just three of the first 24 games of the year. She got another chance on March 12 against Kansas, when she went 1-2 with three RBI at the plate. Since then, Scott established firm control behind the plate, starting all 19 games.
“When Coach B (head coach Kristi Bredbenner) first put me in, I was like, ‘Okay, like, I have nothing left to lose at this point, so go out and just do whatever,’” Scott said.
Similarly, Nihart wasn’t expected to be a lead pitcher for the Shockers this year. However, around the same time in the middle of March, Nihart emerged as WSU’s ace starter.
She’s started 14 games, thrown 86 innings and has a 3.01 ERA — all tops on the team. Nihart has often started in the circle twice during a three-game weekend series, showing the trust Bredbenner has placed in her.
“I didn’t really expect that,” Nihart said about starting games this year. “That kind of came out of the blue, especially with, like, you know, the fall that I had had.”
Opposite personalities
As roommates, Nihart and Scott hang out with each other a lot outside of the field.
The two have opposite personalities. Nihart is quieter and introverted, while Scott is talkative and brash. Those differences have brought them closer together.
Nihart described Scott as tough on the field. Off it, there’s a softer side.
“She’s just such a sweet, caring person, and she’s so out there and energetic and outgoing,” Nihart said. “And I think, like I said, she’s really opposite of me, and I’m not like that. So I think it was really good to be around somebody that was opposite of me.”
Scott described a similar dynamic, with lots of laughs, but also a lot of vulnerability. Scott said Nihart balances her out.
“She’s very mindful, she’s very shy and very quiet,” Scott said about Nihart. “I am not any of those things whatsoever.”
Nihart’s cautious nature sometimes puts the more impulsive Scott in check. Nihart described lying in bed at night in the quiet before Scott asked a random, off-topic question.
“I’m like, ‘Gabby, like, why did you think of this? Or why are you talking about this?’” Nihart said. “But she’s great. She makes me laugh every day.”
Meanwhile, Scott is used to the look Nihart gives her when she goes too far.
“I’m like, ‘Damn, I can’t say that,’” Scott said.
Battery mates
Nihart and Scott’s friendship off the field leads to better communication as a pitcher-catcher combination on the field.
Sometimes, that means the ability to be brutally honest without resulting in hurt feelings. When Nihart misses her spot on a pitch, Scott feels comfortable telling her. When Nihart throws a meatball, Scott will joke that the imaginary hitter sent the ball to Fuzzy’s on the other side of campus.
“She has said that a couple times in the bullpen, actually, and it just makes the whole bullpen laugh,” Nihart said. “It makes everybody be like, ‘Gabby. Like, really, did you really have to say that?’”
But Scott can also be supportive. Nihart said she’s able to calm her down in the circle and build confidence during tough situations.
“I think she really believes in me,” Nihart said. “And again, her honesty and everything else just helps boost my confidence, and I think keeps me performing the way that I am.”
Scott said she makes those jokes to lighten the mood when providing feedback.
“Sometimes you can still find a way to make fun out of it,” Scott said. “Like, when she throws the ball down the middle, I’m like, ‘That’s going dead center seven hundie. Like, hello. We can’t have that.’”
Overall, their friendship bears fruit in their performance on the field as the two freshmen have grown their roles on the team together.
“I know her on a deeper level, and then that comfortability just comes along with that,” Scott said. “It’s just like, we just get each other on a deeper level.”
