How former Bullitt East standout pitcher Taylor Roby became Louisville softball's 'anchor'

Taylor Roby stepped to the plate in the top of the sixth inning of a Feb. 25, 2019, game at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, with Louisville softball trailing the No. 7 team in the country 5-0 and did something she had never done before.

The Mount Washington native known for giving batters headaches with her command of the strike zone in the circle cranked a ball over the center-field wall for the first home run of her life.

Four years later, Roby heads back to Knoxville this week as one of the most dangerous power hitters in the country. She has already set a school record for home runs in a single season with 22, one off the Division I lead, and distanced herself from Courtney Moore (42) atop the Cardinals' all-time leaderboard with 62.

Making its first trip to the NCAA tournament since Roby was a redshirt freshman in 2019, U of L (35-18, 16-8 ACC) kicks off double-elimination regional play at 3 p.m. Friday against Indiana looking to extend the fifth-year graduate student's decorated college career.

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"Maybe it will bring back good juju," said Roby, a member of the All-ACC first team, of returning to the place where her home-run journey began.

Louisville will need all the power — and poise in the circle — it can get from the most-tenured player on its roster, because the Knoxville Regional features Tennessee's Kiki Milloy, who leads the country with 23 homers, and Indiana's Taryn Kern, who in her first season at the collegiate level is tied for second with Roby.

"It's gonna be a home-run fest," said Roby, who's hitting a career-best .361 with 56 RBIs across 158 at-bats. "It'll be exciting, for sure."

To emerge victorious would not only send the program to its first Super Regional but also cement Roby's status as one of the best to ever don a Louisville uniform. The Bullitt East High School graduate grew up idolizing former Cardinals like Maryssa Becker and Nicole Pufahl, telling herself she would one day follow in their footsteps, and now she's serving as a mentor for the next generation.

"She's grown so much in so many different areas," said fifth-year head coach Holly Aprile, who called Roby the team's "anchor."

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'I had to do it for him'

There's a message stitched across Roby's glove: "#PLAY4DONDOBINA."

Dobina, for whom the Cardinals' field is named, coached Roby as primarily a pitcher on the travel ball team he founded, the Louisville Lady Sluggers, while she was in high school. The U of L graduate died unexpectedly Nov. 12, 2016, at age 63, just months after Roby was named The Courier Journal's Softball Player of the Year for a dominant sophomore season in the circle and at the plate for Bullitt East.

Dobina's former player has further blossom into a two-way star for the program he adamantly supported, and Roby said he played a big role in getting her to this point by first running the idea of her graduating high school early to begin her college journey ahead of schedule past former Cardinals head coach Sandy Pearsall and her staff.

They saw the same potential he did.

"When they asked me to (enroll early), I knew I had to do it for him," said Roby, who joined Louisville ahead of the 2018 season and redshirted. "He was just such a selfless person; he always put his players first. He made me love the game a little bit more than I did before."

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Roby spent her redshirt year getting acclimated to the college game, building relationships with new teammates and coaches. When Aprile was hired after the 2018 campaign from Pittsburgh to succeed Pearsall, she turned to Roby in the circle for 107 innings in 2019. She posted a 14-4 record with a 2.62 ERA and 65 strikeouts while batting .287 with four home runs and 23 RBIs in 136 plate appearances.

"We didn't know what was gonna happen after that transition," Roby said of the coaching change, "but I'm glad to have (Aprile). She has taught me so much as a player, as a pitcher and as a hitter. And, mentally, I think she's helped me out so much throughout the years, building me into the player I am today."

Roby grew stronger and more disciplined at the plate, and her power numbers have only improved — seven homers in 2020, 14 in 2021, 15 in 2022 and now 22 this year.

"She's been a mainstay in the lineup every single day," Aprile said. "Since Day 1, she has been a huge factor, and getting the extra year and being able to build off of that, she's made a lot of great adjustments."

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'My biggest cheerleader'

Gabby Holloway was sidelined for most of her sophomore season after tearing her bicep while pitching during Louisville's first ACC series last year. While the Huntersville, North Carolina, native worked her way back to the circle, she said Roby was with her every step of the way.

"I don't think I have words to describe that from an emotional support standpoint," Holloway said. "She's kind of my biggest cheerleader, and for that I'm forever grateful for her."

Roby isn't the most outspoken player on the field, but Aprile doesn't ask her to be. As one of the Cardinals' primary pitchers, who's 10-6 in 22 starts this season with two complete games, a 2.42 ERA and 56 strikeouts, she's tasked with staying even-keeled and setting the tone with her actions.

"She's definitely a leader," Aprile said. "She makes sure that we're doing what we're supposed to, we're where we're supposed be and everybody knows what time we're supposed to be there."

Holloway added, "She's consistent in everything she does. You know what you're gonna get with her. I think that piece makes her a great leader."

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As her college career winds down after six years, Roby has learned what makes the time she spent in the program special: the friendships cultivated in the locker room and the platform she has to inspire younger fans watching, like she did, from the stands.

"It's sad it's coming to an end, but I've done my time here, and I'm excited for what the next chapter holds," she said. "But building all those bonds, it's kind of sad, because I've created so many bonds throughout all my years."

Roby hopes to pursue a professional career; and if that doesn't pan out she wants to become a graduate assistant and stay around the sport for as long as she can. She's already established herself as a coach in training, following examples set by both Dobina and Aprile, by holding private pitching lessons during the offseason for girls who compete at the high-school level all the way down to her "little munchkins."

"I go to their travel ball tournaments," she said, "and to see them strike (batters) out and succeed makes me so happy."

And after ending her time at Louisville with a bang, she may have to expand her business.

"Now," she said, "I'm gonna get some asking about hitting lessons."

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: NCAA softball tournament 2023: Louisville pitcher Taylor Roby 'anchor'