Hope Trautwein - The Innocent
SOFTBALL - PITCHER - UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
ARCHETYPE: THE INNOCENT
Day 43/135
Athletic Accomplishments
Hope Trautwein is a senior at the University of North Texas, where she has been a standout pitcher for the Mean Green since her freshman year. Last Sunday, she did something truly extraordinary, something no one has ever done in D1 ball before—she struck out all 21 batters in a 7 inning game against Arkansas Pine Bluff.
The feat elevated Trautwein from a Conference USA star to a national conversation. But lest you think this is a fluke, Trautwein is an indisputable ace. She is the North Texas Career Leader in ERA (2.21), Saves (8), and Lowest Opponent Batting Average (.204). And she is the North Texas and Conference USA Single-Game Strikeout Record Holder, with 21 strikeouts, which she has done three times. She has also thrown three no-hitters to date.
Trautwein is well-known to opponents in Conference USA. She’s been a consistent presence in the pitchers’ circle for the Mean Green since freshman year, racking up all kinds of honors:
• 2020 Conference USA Preseason Pitcher of the Year
• 2019 First Team All-Conference Selection
• 2018 Second Team All-Conference and All-Freshman Team Selection
Where will Trautwein go next, after her time at North Texas is over? Will she keep pitching and playing softball? We don’t know, for two reasons. First off, the career options for being a fast pitch softball player are pretty narrow and not particularly lucrative.
But secondly and importantly, because media outlets covered this as a one-time event that could relegate Trautwein to just a memory. In the pieces I read about this extraordinary feat, not one of them talked about Trautwein’s future in softball or as a draftable prospect.
We may not have the answer, but we still need to ask the question: Why is that?
Character Archetype: The Innocent
The Innocent
It’s hard enough to pitch a no-hitter. A perfect game—7 innings, no hits, no walks—seems damn near impossible. Now, want me to layer on the truly unthinkable? What if you throw a perfect game by striking out every. single. batter? Inconceivable!
And yet, that’s exactly what Hope Trautwein did last Sunday, when North Texas beat Arkanas Pine Bluff. She’s the first D1 player to ever pitch a perfect game with ALL STRIKEOUTS. Because it had never been done before, the Mean Green’s coach, Rodney DeLong, made a suggestion. "I mean Hope did it, so maybe we call it a Hope-a-Dope.
I mean, you’d think at least one batter would hit the ball into play. You’d think there would be at least one pop up. But no, Trautwein just fired them in and recorded 21 strikeouts.
Can you imagine the kind of pressure you’d feel going into the 7th inning? Well, Trautwein can’t either. Because she didn’t even know she was throwing a perfect game. THAT, my friends, is called being in the moment. Being in the zone. Facing batter by batter, pitch by pitch. THAT, my friends, is the only way to get it done.