OMAHA (KMTV) — When it comes to Kamryn Meyer, there's two sides to the Mavericks' ace. The first is gameday Kamryn.
"She's extremely focused," said head coach Mike Heard. "She's got that whole bulldog mentality: Give me the ball and here we go."
"At 2nd base I get a good view of her face every time she turns around," said junior Lynsey Tucker. "She does stay locked in most of the time."
Then, there's the lighter side to the UNO junior.
"This year, especially, I think I've grown vocally," said Meyer. "I think I talk to everyone while I'm out there a lot more and even in the dugout when I'm not on the field I'm always cheering everyone on. But I also think leading by example."
So far in the circle this season, Meyer's 1.23 E.R.A. easily leads the Summit League. Her 230 strikeouts are 44 more than the next closest pitcher in the conference.
"It's incredible," said Tucker. "I always knew she had it in her. She's really come into herself just as a player, a leader on our team. I'm not surprised. It makes it easy on us infielders, that's for sure."
Two weeks ago, the Wilton, Iowa native set the single-game school record with 18 strikeouts only to one-up it one week later with 19.
"Honestly, I didn't know how many strikeouts I had when I beat the record. It wasn't until after the game that I found out. So I just go out there and have fun."
"The attitude and the composure and the toughness that she brings to the circle, there's absolutely no doubt that our team has followed that," said Heard.
Heading into Omaha's final home weekend of the season, Meyer's 16 wins rank 2nd in the Summit League. But the one win Meyer wants more than any other would be a victory at next month's conference tournament title game, which would give the Mavs their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
"We're all kind of finding that groove," Meyer said. "I think we're peaking at the right time. It would be a dream to get to the NCAA Tournament with all these girls because they're like family to me."
UNO hosts Kansas City in a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
