By Josh Knecht

The University of Louisville’s Ulmer Stadium, home to the Cardinal softball team, is many miles away from Sydney, but for Australian native Kristin Wadwell, it is the closest thing to a home away from home. The junior pitcher from the land down under has come a long way since her arrival to the team over two years ago, and the journey isn’t over yet.
In her first year with the team, Wadwell helped the lady cardinals win their first Big East title with a win over Notre Dame.
“We beat Notre Dame after an okay season, and I threw 5 innings of a no hitter,” Wadwell said. “It was an exciting game!”
Since that first season, Wadwell has come a long way and has improved her skills to become one of the primer pitchers in the Big East.
“[Kristin] certainly has been a spark to this team, because obviously with her on the mound, we have great confidence that she will get the job done for us. That takes a lot of pressure not only off our defense, but also our offense,” said Coach Pearsall. “She’s very capable of throwing many innings and finishing games. She’s a great athlete, and we are very pleased that she is on our team, and we are not facing her!”
So how did Wadwell decide to go from The Outback to The Bluegrass?  Kristin said she played on the Aussie equivalent of a high school softball team, which is organized into clubs, and they made it to the tournament finals in their respective league.
“I was recruited to go to Louisville. Coach P[earsall] watched me play and talked to me after the tournament. Coach Marr was why Coach P came to see me, and then she offered me the opportunity,” said Wadwell
about her decision to play overseas. “It was an easy choice because it was such a great opportunity, and I really liked the team and the coaches.”
Wadwell was also briefly looking into The University of Arizona, but kindly rejected that offer to be a Cardinal, adding she has not doubted or regretted that decision for one day.  Her teammates join in her enthusiasm for her choice. Wadwell believes in hard work, but it seems like the lady cardinals also believe in fun and community. Trips to Florida, Washington D.C., and Las Vegas have stuck in Wadwell’s mind as great experiences, and she said the memories made with her teammates are life-long remembrances.
Besides her athletic life, school for Wadwell seems to be a manageable workload for her.  She said she is able to find ample time for her studies and her athletic requirements.
“Sometimes it’s hard to find time for school mostly, because softball has its allocated time, but you can find a way to get everything done, and sometimes it can be stressful, but it’s usually not that bad,” said Wadwell.
As far as the legacy that Wadwell hopes she can leave Louisville Softball, her goals and expectations are held to a high standard to make sure she gets there.
“She is still growing, and she has all of the ability and strength, it just needs to be found within her to show up everyday,” said Coach Pearsall about Wadwell’s development as a player. “She’s at 75 percent and we need her at 100 percent, and I think she can and will get there.”
Coach Pearsall’s expectations for Wadwell are very high, and her catcher and signal caller Melissa Roth is an integral part of making her pitcher as good as possible.
“I think honestly the way we think about it is we just take it one game at a time, and we really don’t worry bout what we’ve done, or what we’re going to do,” said Roth. “We just go out there and take it one game at a time.” Wadwell and Roth work day in and day out at practice to further develop Wadwell’s skills and add to her pitching repertoire.
“For us it’s just about staying focused, and help her to maintain [Kristin’s] goals,” said Roth. “I get to call her games, so I try to do the best I can to help her be the best.”
Wadwell’s quest to be the best on the mound is apparent and her spirit is infectious. She is the current leader this season with pitching wins in both the Big East Conference and in the rest of Division I, and that is not enough.
There is only one thing that is on Wadwell’s mind and that is to “get [her] team to a college world series,” she said.