Lindsey Hendrix’s bounce-back season has fueled Syracuse’s pitching staff

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In 2023, Lindsey Hendrix accumulated a 4.30 earned run average after registering a 2.62 ERA the year before. Her poor performance last season, she said, did take a slight mental toll on her. To regain her old form, Hendrix turned to the team’s head coach, Shannon Doepking.

“I think controlling my thoughts has led me to being better when it comes to throwing balls and resetting and understanding what’s going on,” Hendrix said. “Coach (Doepking) has done an amazing job when it comes to teaching us how to be better mentally when it comes to softball.”

After a down junior season, Hendrix has bounced back to become Syracuse’s best pitcher in 2024, leading the team in ERA (2.27). Along with Doepking’s advice, Hendrix worked on her command with SU pitching coach Sydney O’Hara.

Hendrix’s offseason development instantly translated to success. On Feb. 16, Hendrix struck out nine batters in 5.1 innings in a 6-3 win over Maryland. The next day against Southeastern Missouri, she pitched a complete-game shutout with eight strikeouts.

“I feel good. It’s obviously lots of emotions,” Hendrix said about her early-season performances. “When you deal with performing well, it’s easy to obviously feel good about yourself. But it’s really important that you don’t let that carry over because anything can happen on any day when it comes to the pitching.”

Hendrix’s recent performances have been some of the best of her career, regaining the dominance she once displayed at Timber Creek High School. As a freshman, Hendrix earned a second team all-state selection and, with the team’s shallow bullpen, she started most games for Timber Creek until she graduated.

“She’s probably one of the craziest people I’ve ever met in a good way,” former Timber Creek catcher Chelsea Peace said.

As a sophomore, Hendrix was named a captain, helping her team thrive over the next three seasons. As a senior at Timber Creek, Hendrix dominated as the team’s only pitcher. Known for her changeup, she racked up 213 strikeouts, held opponents to a .150 batting average and registered a 0.58 ERA.

“She could back up everything on the field with her talent and her ability,” Hendrix’s high school coach Morgan Williams said. “Everybody else just followed her without questioning because whatever she was doing was what everyone else needed to be doing.”

Though Peace had graduated from Timber Creek two years before Hendrix, she never forgot Hendrix’s “unpredictable” changeup.

“The lefties naturally have spin (on the ball) but Lindsey’s was something else,” Peace said.

Hendrix helped the Wolves to two Florida High School Athletic Association District 6 9A championships and a state championship game appearance in 2016.

As a junior in 2018, Hendrix dealt with a chronic back injury, but the Wolves’ ace powered through. In the FHSAA state playoffs, she pitched 26 innings and struck out 30 batters across four games, helping her team win the regional final.

“If she did ever lacked confidence, she never let anybody see it or feel it out of her,” Williams said. “I’m sure that she was all we had…She did her part as a leader and never allowed anybody else to see that happening.”

After dominating in high school, Hendrix has experienced her fair share of ups and downs through three seasons with Syracuse. As a freshman, her ERA was 5.98 before posting a 2.62 mark as a sophomore. Yet in 2023, her ERA ballooned back over 4.0 in a career-high 27 starts and 135 innings pitched.

But as a senior, Hendrix has learned from experiences over the past three seasons to garner better results. The work she’s put in has allowed her to harness control in the circle.

“Being able to talk through with (the pitching coaching staff) and express what’s going on has been really helpful,” Hendrix said.

Stepping up as a senior, Hendrix has regained her demeanor as a leader. With new additions Makenzie Foster (Fr.), Britney Lewinski (Jr.), Julianna Verni (So.) and Taylor Davison (Fr.), Hendrix’s experience has played a big role in helping the rest of the staff.

SU sophomore pitcher Madison Knight said she was a “scared freshman” without any friends on the team until talking with Hendrix in 2023. Since then, Hendrix has become her mentor.

“She will talk to anybody that wants to talk to her. She also will talk to people that don’t want to talk to her,” Knight said. “If I feel … any doubt in my mind, I go to Lindsey and (she) talks me through it. If it’s good or bad, she’s gonna be there regardless.”

Rotating with Knight as a starter this year, Hendrix has kept herself consistent, garnering a 7-2 record while pitching the second-most innings (49.1) and strikeouts (40).

“She’s very good at holding down the fort,” Knight said. “When she goes out, we know she’s going to put a stop to the opposing offense.”