Michael Steuerwald overhauls pitchers’ approaches on and off the field

When head coach Shannon Doepking hired Michael Steuerwald on July 17, they pinned down the No. 1 priority: getting Alexa Romero back to her ace form. Hitters had adjusted to Romero’s fastball-heavy arsenal after three years in the circle, and the coaching staff knew that she had to add to her pitch selection to keep them guessing.

With a more reliable off-speed option, Romero’s earned run average dropped from 3.69 last year to 3.00 so far in 2020.

“For a pitching coach to be able to teach a pitcher within a couple months a completely new pitch that she is fully confident throwing in any count, I think is a really good sign of what kind of pitching coach (Steuerwald) is,” Doepking said.

For the first time in her six-year head coaching career, Doepking “completely trusts” her pitching coach with any facet of the game, she said. Since joining Syracuse’s (10-10, 2-1 Atlantic Coast) staff last summer, Steuerwald has overhauled the pitchers’ approaches on and off the field. SU’s 4.71 team ERA from 2019 has dipped to 3.41, and Romero said Steuerwald’s intensity creates more of a business-like atmosphere.

“‘I need to be intense, I need to bring my level up tonight,’” Romero said about her new thought process. “That is what he does.”

Steuerwald met Doepking when she played for his Chicago Bandits in 2011, a National Pro Fastpitch team. Romero called Steuerwald — a collegiate and professional head coach for more than 10 years — “literally a genius” for how he “digests” the game.

Emily Steinberger | Digital Editor

When he came to Syracuse as an assistant, Steuerwald gave every player a journal to write down their issues on and off the field and figured out ways to address them. Romero said Steuerwald wants his pitchers to self-evaluate in bullpen sessions, diagnosing problems and working to fix them.

“We know if we don’t execute a pitch, or if we don’t get the pitch we need, we are like, ‘Yeah that’s on me,’” Romero said. “And then (Steuerwald) will be like, ‘Good, now how do you do that, how do you learn from that?’”

Through conversations with Steuerwald, Romero realized that another issue she had was her release point. It was not as far back as it needed to be, so she took it upon herself to make the adjustment. Since, she has generated more speed and spin on her pitches and said that it’s a major factor for a resurgence this year.

But against Houston on Feb. 21, Romero struggled with her command and walked three batters in three innings. The next day against Princeton, she walked three more and allowed four earned runs in as many innings. Missing spots can become a “mental struggle,” Steuerwald said, and after the Houston Challenge, he chatted with his ace.

“What are you afraid of?” Romero remembered Steuerwald asking her.

Romero realized she was pitching scared, and responded, “You know what, you are right, I am not afraid of anything.”

The next weekend, in two games against South Florida, Romero went 11 innings without a walk. Steuerwald said she mixed in her new off-speed pitch five or six times to set up her fastball.

“I think (Romero) just got locked back into attacking a little bit more and not letting some of the pitches she wasn’t getting from umpires affect her as much,” Steuerwald said.

Steuerwald’s coaching style hasn’t rubbed off just on Romero. He treats every pitcher differently, giving the experienced Romero “more freedom” than freshmen Kaia Oliver and Catie Dobbs. But he still wants the whole staff to limit walks by trusting their defense instead of aiming for the corners.

“You just have to trust your defense and let them do their thing,” Oliver said. “Hope for the best and I know they are working for me and I am going to work for them. It is just hard.”

Dobbs (2.57 ERA) and Oliver (3.44) have provided depth behind Romero in the rotation. Dobbs started against Texas Tech on Feb. 23, pitching just over four innings while allowing no earned runs. When Romero relieved Dobbs but was hit hard in only two-thirds of an inning, Oliver came through. She pitched three innings, giving up only one hit, no earned runs and securing the victory for the Orange, their first ranked win since 2016.

With ACC play underway, Steuerwald will continue to shape the mentality of the pitching staff. But the results and the ERA of the Orange will come from the pitchers’ ability to adapt, self-evaluate and pitch fearlessly. It’s what Steuerwald came to SU to do.

“I felt like we were in a position to take this program to the next level and kind of look to push and compete at the top of the ACC,” Steuerwald said. “Obviously it is going to take some work, but I feel like we have the pieces in place to make that happen.”