A pitcher, a catcher and a ‘Matrix’

CEDAR RAPIDS - Alyssa Olson is the creator and producer of The Matrix.

It's a 100-square grid of pitching potential. Brian Erbe has a copy on a clipboard. Maddie Hansen has a miniature version on her wrist. Olson has most of it in her head.

'We heard some rumors that other teams were starting to figure out (our pitching sequence) last year,” said Olson, junior pitcher for Cedar Rapids Jefferson. 'I saw some ideas online, then I came up with my own.”

The Matrix consists of four grids, each with five rows and five columns, and an array of colors. Each box houses a pitch (riseball, fastball, dropball, etc.) and a location (inside, outside, up or down) for Olson to execute.

'It can be confusing,” said Hansen, the J-Hawks' strong-armed, hard-hitting catcher. 'I'm starting to recognize some of the numbers.”

During games, Erbe - the J-Hawks' head coach - will relay a sequence to Hansen, who will look to her wristband, then signal to Olson.

'We only have 30 seconds between pitches, so we'll have to work fast,” Hansen said.

With Olson and Hansen, Jefferson possesses arguably the best pitcher-catcher tandem in the state.

Both earned first-team all-state honors last season as the J-Hawks compiled a 34-12 record and placed fifth in Class 5A at the state tournament.

'I wouldn't trade them,” Erbe said. 'They're hard-working kids that are close to each other and work well together.”

Hansen batted an even .500, finishing second in the state with 69 RBIs. She walloped 22 double and seven home runs.

Olson posted a 21-4 record with a 1.03 ERA, striking out 237 batters in 163 1/3 innings, most with her riseball.

The rewards didn't end with all-state recognition.

'I asked my dad if I could get a puppy if I pitched us to state,” Olson said.

Dad agreed, and Olson picked up her pup - Dudley, a golden retriever/poodle mix - shortly after the J-Hawks returned home from Fort Dodge.

Olson played her youth ball with a Cedar Rapids Kennedy feeder team while Hansen was part of the Blue Devils pipeline that has overflowed with talent for Jefferson through the years.

Once the duo got acquainted, they meshed.

'With Maddie, we just have this connection,” Olson said. 'We can read each other's minds. It's almost like we're sisters.”

Without the fighting.

'No, that wouldn't turn out well for me,” Olson said.

That's because Hansen is, in the words of Erbe, 'the strongest girl in the school.”

Hansen is a constant on the Jefferson weightlifting leaderboard, leading Jefferson girls in clean (190 pounds), squat (305) and bench press (135). She's second to softball teammate Erin Kuba in the dead lift, at 300.

Strength is one thing. Put that with timing and a maturing hitting approach, and you've truly got something.

'She just can't take enough reps in practice,” Erbe said. 'She takes a minimum of 300 cuts a day.”

'I think I've grown and developed as a hitter,” Hansen said. 'If runners are in scoring position, I want to advance them or drive them in. I've learned to be more choosy in my approach.”

Hansen said she 'loves catching for” Olson, who relies more on movement than velocity.

Olson's fastball is generally in the high-50s.

'She's not overpowering, but she's sneaky fast,” Erbe said. 'You don't get the impression that she's going to throw it by you.

Olson said, 'If you throw it fast, the batter can catch up with speed. But they can't catch up with movement.”

The batterymates both hold 4.0 grade point averages. Hansen dreams of attending Northwestern University someday as a student. And, of course, as a softball player.

'I don't know what I would do without softball,” she said. 'I love being on the field. I love being in the batter's box.”

Olson is a student of the game, as well. She created a pitching grid, that 'Matrix,” not only for herself but for the entire Jefferson pitching staff.

'They're all a little different,” she said. 'There are more boxes in each one for each pitcher's individual strengths.”

Olson and Hansen are two of six returning starters for Jefferson, which opens Tuesday at Cedar Rapids Washington.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@sourcemedia.net