Runner Staff
Softball has always been a part of CSU Bakersfield senior pitcher Kelsie Monroe’s life since the age of 12.
Monroe’s love for softball came from her father, Ed Monroe, who was her softball coach and influenced her throughout her career, and it has brought her closer with her father.
“My dad has coached me since I’ve started playing,” Monroe said. “He’s been a huge factor, and it’s one of our major bonds.”
Though Monroe started as a swimmer, she quit swimming at the age of 12. She fell in love with softball and hasn’t looked back since.
“I actually swam until I was 12,” she said. “My dad told me to try [softball] out so I ended up doing it at the little recreation leagues where I fell in love with it.”
Monroe grew up in Los Banos, Calif. and went to Los Banos High School. In her senior year (2010-2011), she led the Western Athletic Conference with a 0.95 earned-run average, 271 strikeouts and finished had a 21-10 record.
She then went to San Joaquin Delta Junior College As a part of the Mustangs’ pitching staff, she led the Big 8 conference with 23 complete games, averaged over eight strikeouts per seven innings, averaged only 4.35 hits per seven innings and finished with a 26-4 record.
Monroe decided to further her career at CSUB because she loved how new the program was.
“I love how family orientated this place is,” she said. “It was a growing program. “It wasn’t completely there yet, and its great to see that it’s only getting better.”
In her first year (2012-2013) at CSUB, she posted an 11-18 record with a 3.76 ERA and pitched for 186.1 innings that season. Last year, in her junior year at CSUB, Monroe finished in the top three among Western Athletic Conference pitchers in ERA (3.19), strikeouts (117) and innings pitched (189). She also broke the CSUB Division I career record for strikeouts with 230.
This season, Monroe has been able to surpass her performances the year before. She currently has a 2.72 ERA, 110 strikeouts, pitched 162.1 innings and has a 14-9 record. She holds the school’s career records in wins (34), strikeouts (340), game appearances (108), games started (90), complete games (47), innings pitched (537.2) and shutouts (8).
She added how much support she has gotten from her team.
“Knowing that I have an awesome team behind me has helped a lot, even on my worse days they are there,” she said.
Her final season at CSUB is almost coming to a close as the WAC Softball Tournament starts on May 7.
She added how bittersweet it feels to be finishing her time here at CSUB.
“It’s bittersweet,” she said. “A whole chapter is closing, and a new one is opening. I have loved the ride, every single second of it. I wouldn’t have changed any part of it.”
The WAC Tournament will be at Las Cruces, N.M., and CSUB is scheduled to play at University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Monroe said her confidence is high going into the WAC Tournament.
“This year we know that we could win the WAC, whereas in the past years its always been questionable,” she said. “This year feels different. Me and the team are super confident about it.”
