Tim Downer

In this week’s Hot Seat, John Rasp interviews NKU softball pitcher Emily Breitholle.

She is both a student-athlete and enrolled in the Athletic Training program at NKU.

March is Athletic Training Month.

John Rasp: Besides pitcher, what position would you like to play? Emily Breitholle: I used to play first base in high school, so that would probably be my first choice. I would also like to be placed back into the hitting lineup. As a pitcher, I don’t get to bat anymore.

JR: Which softball player is the most superstitious? EB: It is probably either me or the other pitcher, Krystal Lewallen. She came over to me yesterday and told me that I had only given up one hit so don’t give up anymore hits or let any runs score. Right after that I gave up a hit and walked a batter. Me and her are probably the biggest ones.

JR: What player or coach is most likely to get tossed from a softball game? EB: Definitely Chip (Assistant Coach Chip Gregg). He likes to speak his mind and run his mouth a little bit.

JR: Shaun Erie said in last week’s Hot Seat that he could hit a fast-pitch softball player. Do you think you could strike him out? EB: Yes. Definitely. Considering he had a .250 batting average last year, I’m not too worried about him.

JR: What kind of pitches would you pitch to Shaun to strike him out? EB: We could start off throwing the heat. Maybe if he started to catch up to that, I’d go offspeed and maybe some moving pitches.

JR: Do you think any softball players could hit a NKU baseball pitcher? EB: Yes. I think baseball pitching is a lot easier to hit than fast-pitch softball, because they are farther away.

JR: Which softball players would have the best chance at hitting a NKU baseball pitcher? EB: I would put Angie (Lindeman) up there, or one of our leadoff hitters, Ricki (Rothbauer) or Leimi (Stephanie Leimbach) to drop a little bunt off to get on.

JR: What’s the weirdest injury you’ve ever seen in the athletic training program? EB: When a softball player was at bat and she tipped it off her shin. Her shin got really big and she still has to wear a brace on it.

JR: Fact or Fiction: The athletic training motto is “ice fixes everything”? EB: Definitely fiction. Ice helps a lot with swelling and internal injuries, but there are many more methods to treat injuries.

JR: How hard is it to balance Athletic Training and being an athlete? EB: It’s not really that hard, but it’s more time management. You definitely have to separate yourself from when you’re an athlete and have to go into the training room. You also have to switch from being a professional in the athletic training room to an athlete just using the room.

JR: What do you plan to do with your athletic training degree after you graduate? EB: I would like to move to Hawaii after I graduate, and then get an athletic training job down there at either a college setting or a clinical setting.