Senior Elle Standard has made her name as the primary pitcher for the Newton Lady Rams during her career.

Going into her final season, Standard felt like she was at the top of her game and that a change of approach could make her even better.

“I have tried to play with more of an aggressive attitude. In the past three years, I have felt like if I did something [wrong], I would just get down on myself,” Standard said. “This year, I have tried to change the attitude completely with, ‘This is my senior year, if anything happens just brush it off and go to the next play.’”

Throughout her high school career, Standard has pitched many innings for the Lady Rams. Looking back, Standard sees a clear distinction between the player she is now versus the one she was as a freshman.

“I have definitely picked up speed and the spin has gotten a lot better, I have also developed two more pitches. I came into high school with five pitches and now I have closer to seven,” Standard said. “In terms of hitting, I have gotten a lot better. I used to be more focused on pitching than I was hitting but now I have got more power in it and I am getting behind the ball. I think I have advanced in both areas.”

During her final season, Standard has pitched multiple complete games for the Lady Rams. The senior is seen as the player who is on the mound in almost every game.

For Standard, that is seen as something to take pride in.

“I do love it, I love being that person that is out there everyday and pitches every game,” Standard said. “I love pitching. It has always been something I have enjoyed.”

Standard has pitched 86 innings for the Lady Rams in 2023. In those games, the senior has a 3.34 earned run average and she has struck out 57 batters.

Though the Lady Rams have not had the season Standard hoped for in her senior year, she feels good about where the team is going in the future.

“I have definitely seen improvement in the team as far as our attitude. We came into the season indifferent with each other, we have had our ups and downs,” Standard said. “We have a younger team but we flipped our attitudes to, ‘Hey, keep your heads up and go to the next game and try your hardest.’ We are a team and we work together. We are going to do our best no matter what.”

As a senior, Standard took that opportunity to be a leader on a roster with a large number of underclassmen.

“I motivate them to where if something happens, we move onto the next play so you can be in a better position then you were,” Standard said. 

As her senior season wraps up, Standard mentioned many factors to why she will always remember her time as part of the Lady Rams. 

“I like being around the girls, I love my teammates and I love my coaches,” Standard said. “I love the fans and everything about the environment we have and the positive attitudes we keep.”