As a high school senior, Cara Martin was dominant. Martin, who attended nearby Windsor High School, led her team to the 2011 New York State Class B Championship and was named the 2011 NYSSCOGS Class B Co-Player of the Year.
When it came time to choose at which institution she would continue her career, Martin decided to leave home and play at the University of Rhode Island. That decision changed the course of her entire career.
“I chose Rhode Island because I wanted to get away from home a little bit — or I thought I did,” said Martin, who is currently a junior softball pitcher for Binghamton. “Rhode Island was beautiful, New England was gorgeous … I went to go visit, loved the campus, loved everything about it.”
In her freshman season at Rhode Island, Martin appeared in 15 games while tallying 67 innings on the bump and recording a 6.27 ERA. However, while she enjoyed her teammates, the strain of being away from home weighed on Martin. Her freshman season would be her first and last as a Ram.
“It was a difficult year with regards to being away from home,” Martin said. “I made a lot of friends there … [but] I was just ready to come home.”
After departing from Rhode Island, Martin took an atypical step: She stepped away from the softball field. In fact, Martin enrolled at BU for the spring 2013 semester and spent a full two seasons without playing college ball. However, she did not leave the game entirely. During that time, she remained around softball, serving as a personal instructor and an assistant coach for the 18U Conklin Raiders travel organization.
It was being around the game that made Martin miss playing.
“[Not playing] was weird,” Martin said. “But I busied myself with other things. I got involved in coaching. I gave pitching lessons and then I kind of realized I missed it, so last summer I started pitching again to see how I liked it.”
It was in the spring of 2014 — after nearly two full seasons since she last stepped on the mound as a Ram — that Martin fully began to believe that she wanted to return to the mound. Interestingly enough, her pupils were the ones who led her to this realization.
“When their season came around and they started playing, I realized that this was something that I wanted to be doing again,” Martin said. “Especially because I had a couple of years of eligibility left and you realize that window closes very, very quickly.”
Martin contacted head coach Michelle Burrell to inquire about restarting her career as a Bearcat.
“I did know of Cara,” Burrell said. “Definitely knew of her, but didn’t really know too much about how she threw. I just talked to some people, her coaches, her teammates and they had a lot of positive things to say about her work ethic. It was good timing for us … That was a need for us. It has been a great fit for both her and us.”
Martin returned to the mound this season for the Bearcats and impressed immediately. In just her third appearance of the season, the junior logged 7 1/3 innings against nationally ranked Arizona State, allowing just four hits and one unearned run.
For the season, the junior has racked up 82 1/3 innings for the Bearcats and has compiled a 10-4 record, the most wins on the team this season. She also leads BU with a 3.57 ERA.
Martin has been named the America East Pitcher of the Week twice this season, most recently this Monday after she allowed two runs, one earned, and just five hits in seven innings over two games against Maine. BU clinched the third seed in the upcoming America East Tournament in the series.
“The first time she went on the mound she kind of showed that she was a little nervous and we kind of realized she hadn’t been on the field in two years,” Burrell said. “I think every game she started throwing with more confidence, and I definitely think that’s helped her. It has definitely helped this team out as well.”
Martin’s teammates have embraced her since she joined the Bearcats, something she believes has played a role in her successful comeback.
“To be with a team that just works so hard and to be able to be successful as a team has just been amazing,” Martin said. “The way that we just work for each other is incredible. [My teammates] support me 100 percent and that’s awesome, too. They welcomed me on the team right away and that is something you don’t find everywhere.”