By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

JAY – It might not be an illusion.

Bree Loon’s pitches might have a little more zip, and batters appear a little more baffled. The Jay lefty seems to be even more dominant.

The Tiger great, last year’s MVC Player of the Year, hasn’t just picked up where she left off last season. She seems to have turned it up a notch.

After hitting her stride with a phenomenal junior season, Loon is extra motivated to make her final year even better.

“I think because I’m a senior, it means that much more to me,” said Loon. “I’m going to try that much more to try and get it past those batters.”

That’s not welcomed news to the trembling hitters standing in the box hoping to muster a few feeble swings against the Tiger ace.

“She gets stronger every year,” said Jay catcher Sara Fetterhoff. “She’s truly an amazing pitcher. She works so hard and has improved on so many pitches. She can throw anything.”

Loon has helped the Tigers roar out to a 7-0 start, including last week’s 3-1 win over Telstar, the defending MVC champs. Loon allowed just four hits and struck out 12 against the Rebels. She followed that up with a perfect game against Mountain Valley on Friday.

Through seven outings this season, the senior has already K’d 103 batters and allowed just 15 hits and two runs.

“She’s added another pitch,” said Fetterhoff. “That really helped us out this year. She’s had a pitch that no one has seen. She’s really worked on that. She put a lot of time and effort into trying to improve, and she has improved tremendously.”

Loon worked on her pitches constantly during the offseason. Though she had six pitches in her repertoire last year, she offers more variety this season. Only the frustration of opposing hitters has remained constant.

“I’m pretty much using them all and just trying to mix it up a lot and keep them off balance,” said Loon. “I’m pitching more different ones this year. Last year, I’d pitch three of the same pitches over and over. This year, I’m really spreading it out.”

That has to be good news for Dick Hurley, softball coach at Franklin Pierce College. The Ravens will have the luxury of Loon pitching for them next season.

“I talked to a lot of different colleges and a lot of different coaches,” said Loon. “I went down there and had a practice with them, and it was great. I loved the girls and the team. Everything just seemed to fit. So I’m pretty excited.”

Loon came across the Ringe, N.H. school from a guidance counselor. She looked at schools like USM and Lyndon State, but Franklin Pierce felt right.

“The coach was a great guy, a very down to earth guy,” said Loon, who will study business. “He just made me feel like I was going to get playing time and that it was going to be a good team.”

Loon says she did talk to a few Division I programs. Most coaches she talked with already had pitching, and Loon said the Division II level seemed to suit her.

“I think with Division II, I’m going to get enough playing time,” she said. “It won’t be like Division III where anybody can really play. There will be a little more competition, but enough that I can handle.”

While she’s optimistic about next season, she’s focused on the current campaign and is excited about the Tigers’ prospects. She hopes the win over Telstar last week is just a sign of good things to come.

“I think it shows our players that we do have a great defense behind us and that we can hit the ball when we need to,” said Loon. “They were really up for the challenge.”