By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
NILES - They say patience is a virtue. In the case of Brandywine's Kelli Zache it was a necessity.
Zache has had to wait the better part of two years to achieve her goal of pitching for the highly successful Brandywine varsity softball team.
As a freshman Zache pitched two innings. There were two reasons for that.
One was pitcher Nikki McGowan, a four-year starter and three-time All-State selection for the Lady Bobcats.
The other was a hip flexor, which forced her to miss quite a bit of time as a freshman and a sophomore.
With the injury behind her and McGowen graduated, Zache has stepped into the spotlight for Brandywine and helped led it to a 25-8 overall record and a No. 4 ranking in Division 3.
The Lady Bobcats won their seventh straight Lakeland Conference championship this year going undefeated in the league.
Brandywine now has its sights set on a seventh straight Division 3 district championship.
The Lady Bobcats travel to Berrien Springs on Saturday to take on Bridgman at 11:30 a.m.
Waiting in the shadow of McGowen, who led Brandywine to the state championship in 2001 as a freshman and then back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2003 and 2004, has not been easy for Zache.
With the injury, Zache was unable to pitch last season due to the pain. But with three months of therapy, was able to get back into the starting line up just prior to districts.
Her direction has been clear ever since.
Zache not only has been the Lady Bobcats' ace pitcher this season, she has delivered at the the plate, hitting .388 with 20 RBIs.
In the circle, Zache has been dominating with an earned run average of 0.55 and 222 strike outs in 166 innings of work.
Zache has upheld the tradition of pitching standouts at Brandwyine. Like McGowen and Rachel Koller before her, Zache has kept the Lady Bobcats on a roll.
Brandywine has now won 59 consecutive Lakeland Conference games.
Zache said that her goal this season was to come out and do as much as she could to help Brandywine continue its winning ways.
Zache's sister Kendra, a freshman, is also a pitcher. She, like her sister Kelli, is awaiting her turn.
With this season quickly wrapping up, Zache isn't looking to the future.