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Kasbohm 'does not like to lose'
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Jordan Kasbohm has an impressive array of devastating pitches in her arsenal that she can call on whenever needed. However, there is one attribute that the Black Hawk College freshman owns that Lady Braves coach Carrie Calderon likes even more. "Jordan does not like to lose,'' said Calderon. "Mentally, she is so strong. ... She wants the ball in her hands all of the time and wants to be in control of every situation. I've had plenty of great pitchers like that and she's one of them. "She owns the mound. She is just a great ballplayer.'' And she has put up some remarkable numbers for the Lady Braves this spring. She started out the season 14-0, which included two no-hitters. She is 17-2 for the 25-14 Lady Braves, sporting a 1.186 ERA. There are two things, though, that make those numbers even more remarkable. One is that she is putting them up for BHC – an option that never entered her mind out of Moline High School. The other is that she has continued battling back problems that have plagued her since her sophomore season in high school. After leading Coach Mark Gerlach's Maroons to a Class 4A IHSA state title last spring, Kasbohm began her junior college career at Kirkwood Community College in nearby Cedar Rapids, Iowa. "Kirkwood just wasn't the fit for me,'' said Kasbohm, not getting into details of what went wrong there in her short time in Cedar Rapids. "I had to learn the hard way. I looked over black Hawk when I shouldn't have. I'm playing here and I'm a lot happier here.'' Familiarity has helped her fit back in, she said. "Just being at home and in this atmosphere with the girls I've grown up with or played against in the past'' has helped the transition. "We all just kind of know each other and that's an advantage.'' So is being a very talented pitcher. According to BHC catcher Maggie Bergeson, Kasbohm has the ability to overpower opposing batters, but also to confuse them with her plethora of pitches. "She has good movement and hits the corners very well,'' said Bergeson, explaining how the two of them are able to set up hitters. "Her rise ball and screw ball are her really good pitches.'' With 160 strikeouts (in 125 innings against just 17 walks), she is fourth nationally among NJCAA Division II pitchers in total Ks. She has given up just 78 base hits. "Every game, she is going to strike out 8-12 batters,'' said Calderon. "I truly believe we have one of the top notch pitchers not only in the Arrowhead Conference and the region, but in the nation.'' Kasbohm, though, doesn't think she is even at her best right now. "I think senior year (at Moline H.S.) and winning state was probably the best pitching I've had,'' she said. "That was when my back injury wasn't as bad as it is now. I hope to gain that back and hope to be like that for our postseason.'' Her contentious back has been probed, prodded and examined by a number of doctors, she said. And none have been able to find the root cause or a solution. That has left her with what she says are shooting pains up the right side of her spine, through her shoulders and into her arm. "It's really difficult to pitch through it,'' said Kasbohm. "At the same time, I have learned how to pitch through it. My back stiffens up and sometimes it hurts to breath.'' Yet she still gives it her best because she doesn't want to let her teammates down. "Just the drive I have, I guess. I want to be out there. I want to win,'' she said. "I want to be the starting pitcher out there and I want to be there late in the games. I want to do my job.'' Despite the bothersome back, she has done just that for the Braves. 
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Today is Saturday, May 25, the 145th day of 2013. There are 220 days left in the year.
1863 -- 150 years ago: The annual review of the fire department of this city took placeyesterday and made a fine showing with machines and hose carts in tip-top order.
1888 -- 125 years ago: Last night's prayer meeting at Central Presbyterian Church wascalled off due to water in the basement, residue of last week's flood.
1913 -- 100 years ago: The junior class of Rock Island High School will hold a riverexcursion on the steamer St. Paul next Tuesday.
1938 -- 75 years ago: The 75th Anniversary of the Rock Island Arsenal today finds thenation's largest ordinance manufacturing plant filling many important orders for the army.
1963 -- 50 years ago: Miss Patrice Daly, Rock Island, a senior at Rock Island HighSchool, won second place in the recent state public speaking contest held in Peoria underthe auspices of the Knights of Pythias.
1988 -- 25 years ago: Hampton's sesquicentennial committee and the Hampton HistoricalSociety have scheduled a full slate of activities, which will be held throughout the year, to celebrate the village's 150th birthday. The first celebration will be the Memorial Dayprogram at 10 a.m. May 30, at the Brettun and Black Store Museum on River Road. Therewill be a sesquicentennial display.
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