Melhorn became good enough to be one of Meigs' better pitchers with a pitching repertoire consisting of a fastball, changeup, screwball, dropball, curveball and a dropcurve. Not only does she have a lot of pitches, but she's a good enough pitcher to be offered by both TWC and Bryan college. Several factors swayed Melhorn towards Wesleyan.

"Location and size were definitely very important," Melhorn said. "I also liked the team. They seemed as if they enjoyed being together and being a real team. I just like the atmosphere Wesleyan has. I could see myself being part of the team at TWC and Bryan, but I could really see myself going to school at Wesleyan."

Melhorn went 9-1 last year on the mound with a 1.08 ERA and had five shutouts. She struck out 40 batters and, in an example of her control, walked only six batters in 58 innings. She also played first base at times and saw time in the outfield. Most of the time she was a designated hitter and hit .261 with two doubles and five RBIs.

Meigs Coach Jeff Davis said he enjoyed having her on the team.

"She's a great kid and a good player," Davis said. "She really works hard. She's a ground ball pitcher that hits her spots. She changes speed on her pitches well. She's also No. 2 in her class academically."

In addition to her pitching skills, her 4.0 GPA was also an attraction for TWC Coach Toby Brooks.

"We often see a correlation between pitchers and a good GPA," Brooks said. "Pitching is such a mental game that we think it helps to have smart pitchers. She has good command of her pitches. In terms of command, she was one of the better pitchers we looked at."

Brooks said Wesleyan will carry five or six pitchers and all of them, either in varsity or junior varsity, will likely see playing time. He said aside from the increased speed of the game, the biggest thing freshman pitchers have to overcome is three feet more distance between the pitching circle and home plate.

"Three feet doesn't seem like a whole lot, but it is when you are talking about release points," Brooks said. "It usually takes pitchers awhile to adjust to 43 feet in college from the 40 feet in high school, but I think she will adjust well."

It is always a big step up for high school pitchers playing in college for the first time.

"I'm a little nervous about it," Melhorn said. "But its something I've always wanted to do. Coach Brooks and everybody will help me. I'm really looking forward to it."