Jen Kumar

And that’s not bad for a freshman, either! OK, so Riverview’s softball sensation, Jen Kumar, may not be pitching at light speed—yet. But give her time; she’s already hurling at velocities beyond her years, speeds that some college softball pitchers don’t reach. The rate that Kumar slings the ball across the plate has already resulted in a slew of school records for the freshman, who pitched every game for Riverview’s softball team.

Jen Kumar now has the most strikeouts in a Riverview season with 130 players sent packin’. She pitched the most number of softball games there in a season, staring down batters in 20 games. The pitcher now has the most wins by a Riverview freshman (five), and the most no-hitters by a freshman (two.) Kumar also tied the record for the most strikeouts in a game (17.)

Jen Kumar

Pitching the no-hitters was a high-water mark for her. They were the first record to fall before Jen’s warp-speed arm. She was close to pitching more, but they became one-hitters instead. She was still happy. “The first no-hitter,” Kumar remarks, “I was kind of nervous. I knew I had to strike them out. The pressure felt good, it helped out a little bit. Sometimes with three balls and no strikes, the pressure to throw a strike helped, because I knew I had to. [Throwing the no-hitters was] one of the best things I'd ever done. It felt really good, really cool.”

Kumar’s played softball since around the age of four, began pitching when she was six, and started fast-pitch softball at nine. The daughter of Barb and Larry Kumar, she has grown up always around softball. It’s in her blood: she has older and younger siblings in softball and baseball, her dad used to play baseball when he was younger, and she practices with him sometimes.

Jen is coached at Riverview by Head Coach Joe Dalsass and Assistant Coach Kevin Krajca. She batted .307 there this spring, and was recently clocked breaking the speed limit of most AK communities with her fastball. She has a 58mph pitch. That is 10mph faster than typical pitchers her age, and three mph faster than top pitchers her age. It’s also within the range for average college pitchers. Look for her to at least break the sound barrier in the next three years.