Q&A: Loveland softball’s Laurin Krings is all business with the ball in her hand
In 2018, Loveland softball pitcher Laurin Krings let her actions speak louder than her words. And she did it consistently.
Throughout the season, Krings had three games where she threw five or more innings and never surrendered a hit. She threw a two-inning no-hitter in a 23-0 win over Thornton on Aug. 18. She’ll be the first to say that she does it with the help of the defense behind her.
But the strikeout numbers cannot be ignored.
Krings led all classifications by striking out 392 hitters. She did that over the course of 192 innings. The Indians made a run in the Class 5A state tournament where they advanced to the semifinals before falling to Cherokee Trail.
Krings came away with Gatorade player of the year honors and has committed to play softball at Missouri.
But she still has a senior season to go. She shared some thoughts on what she accomplished last year and how she and her teammates plan on attacking the 2019 season.
Question: You started throwing no-hitters early in the year. Is hard to get into a groove like that so early?
Krings: At the beginning of the school year I had just come out of summer ball and then that definitely helped me. I play, I was on Nebraska team at the highest level I can play at. So that definitely carries over to the high school season.
Q: What’s going on in your head when you’re in that circle that you are such a dominant pitcher?
Krings: When I’m in the circle, I’m just thinking, let’s just go after them with that first pitch. If I don’t get that pitch, then I know the next pitch, I got it. You just feel relaxed when you’re in there.
Q: What’s your best memory from last season?
Krings: Probably just state and all the energy we had going into it. We played really well at regionals and then just the energy that my team brought to state. We got to the Final 4 and that was really cool.
Q: How do you build on that finish and make sure that you go further in the state tournament next year?
Krings: We have a lot of the same girls; we only graduated two. I think we’re just really excited to get back out there and we just have that same energy we did last year in the Final 4. We have some talented kids coming up to so that should be really fun for us.
Q: You threw a ton of innings last year, how do you shoulder the responsibility of being such a key part of this team each game?
Krings: We have a really good defense, so if they get a hit, I know my defense has my back. When I get in the zone, I’m just focusing on the game and honestly I’m just trying to do my job for my team.
Q: It’s hard not to notice when you’re striking out a lot of hitters or no one’s gotten a base hit so how do you keep yourself gathered in those situations?
Krings: I honestly don’t keep track of strikeouts and no-hitters. Someone usually comes up and says “good job, that was a no-hitter” or something like that. So I’m always just focusing on a single batter at time and it’s cool if I get a no-hitter.
Q: What are you looking forward to the most for next year?
Krings: I’m just excited to represent my high school and just compete for my high school and represent us.
Q: What’s the one thing you learned from state last year that you have to apply to the 2019 season?
Krings: We just need to focus and just work hard. That’s all we can ask for.
