Louise Erickson [Sauer] is a former pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was a women's professional baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. During the league's history, over 600 women played ball.-History:...

. Listed at 5' 9", 162 lb., she batted and threw right handed.

Lou Erickson had a brief but fruitful career as a member of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. In a three-year stint, she was a member of two champion teams and landed on the All-Star team two times. While showing an array of pitches and not being prone to walks

Base on balls

A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...

, she relied on a fastball

Fastball

The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...

, curveball

Curveball

The curveball is a type of pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball causing it to dive in a downward path as it approaches the plate. Its close relatives are the slider and the slurve. The "curve" of the ball varies from pitcher to...

 and changeup

Changeup

A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball. Other names include change-of-pace, Bugs Bunny change-up, the dreaded equalizer, and simply change. The changeup is sometimes called an off-speed pitch, although that term can also be used simply to mean any pitch that is slower than a fastball...

 combination, mixing speeds in her curve sparingly, with an impeccable control over location.

Born in Arcadia, Wisconsin

Arcadia, Wisconsin

Arcadia is a city in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, along the Trempealeau River. The population was 2,925 at the 2010 census. It is the largest city in Trempealeau county.-History:...

, Erickson used to play baseball with her father, uncles and five brothers at an early age. I had no previous formal or informal training in softball or baseball. Two of my uncles played weekend baseball and I was the tomboy shagging balls in the outfield, she recalled in an interview.

Afterward she was allowed to shag balls for a neighboring town team, which drew the attention of the manager, who recommended her to the league. She was invited to a tryout and immediately was assigned to the Racine Belles

Racine Belles

The Racine Belles were one of the original teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing from through out of Racine, Wisconsin. The team played its home games at Horlick Field.-History:...

 in the 1948 season, which was already underway. She was used in relief duties and collected a 1-0 record with a 5.74 earned run average

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

 and 11 innings of work in three appearances.

Erickson opened 1949 with the Rockford Peaches

Rockford Peaches

The Rockford Peaches were a team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing out of Rockford, Illinois for the entire existence of the league from 1943 to 1954....

. She was added to the pitching rotation

Starting pitcher

In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....

, becoming the third starter on an excellent staff behind Lois Florreich

Lois Florreich

Kathleen Lois Florreich [Flash] was a pitcher and utility who played from through for three different teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 5", 140 lb., Florreich batted and threw right-handed...

 and Helen Fox

Helen Nicol

Helen Nicol is a Canadian former baseball pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League . Listed at 5' 3", 120 lb., Nicol batted and threw right-handed...

. Erickson responded to more mound time with a 17-6 record and a 1.76 ERA in 216 innings, including seven shutout

Shutout

In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....

s, while ranking fourth in the league in wins and winning percentage

Winning percentage

In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. It is defined as wins divided by wins plus losses . Ties count as a ½ loss and a ½ win...

 (.739), gaining selection to the All-Star team.

Meanwhile, the Peaches played a best-of-seven series with the South Bend Blue Sox

South Bend Blue Sox

The South Bend Blue Sox were a women's professional baseball team who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...

, which Rockford swept, with Erickson defeating Jean Faut

Jean Faut

Jean Anna Faut [Winsch/Eastman] is a former female starting pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 4", 137 lb., she batted and threw right handed....

 and South Bend in a two-hit, 1–0 shutout in Game 4. Then, the Grand Rapids Chicks

Grand Rapids Chicks

The Grand Rapids Chicks were a women's professional baseball team based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League from 1945 to 1954, winning championships in 1947 and 1953....

 and Rockford hooked up for a best-of-five series to determine the league championship, which was won by Rockford in four contests. In Game 3, Erickson beat Mildred Earp

Mildred Earp

Mildred Earp [Mid or Millie] is a former female pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at 5' 6", 135 lb., she batted and threw right handed....

 and Grand Rapids by a 5–2 score.

In the 1950 season Erickson went 16-10 with a 2.52 ERA, ending sixth in complete game

Complete game

In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were...

s (23), ninth in strikeout

Strikeout

In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

s (88) and eleventh in innings pitched (221), tying South Bend's Dorothy Mueller

Dorothy Mueller

Dorothy Mueller [Bajda] was a pitcher who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League between the and seasons. Listed at 5' 11", 160 lb., Mueller batted and threw right handed...

 for seventh in wins, and also joined the All-Star team for the second consecutive year. She contributed at the plate as well, going 21-for-88 for a .239 batting average

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

, more than three of the Rockford starting position players.

In the best-of-five first round, Rockford eliminated the Kenosha Comets

Kenosha Comets

Based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Kenosha Comets were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team played their home games at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium, but later moved to Simmons Field.The Kenosha Comets were one...

 in four games, with Erickson winning Game 3 while limiting Kenosha to four hits in a 8–3 victory. In the final series Rockford claimed his second title in a row, four games to three, over the Fort Wayne Daisies

Fort Wayne Daisies

The Fort Wayne Daisies were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...

. In Game 2, Erickson limited the Daisies to five hits in a 5–2 victory, but lost a pitching duel against Maxine Kline

Maxine Kline

Maxine Kline [Randall] is a former female starting pitcher who played from through with the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League...

 in Game 6. Rockford wound up winning last game thanks to a 3–1 performance by Fox. It would be the last season for Erickson. She posted a 34-16 record and a 2.13 ERA in three seasons, and went 4-1 with a 2.60 ERA in five playoff games.

Erickson retired from baseball for personal reasons. Everything was great, except the bus rides to the four state destinations. I could never sleep on the bus, so those trips got boring after a 126 game schedule – all night games, she explained.

She married Burt Sauer in 1950 and became a housewife. They produced a daughter and a son and two grandsons. When the kids started school, she worked in a bowling alley, a grocery store and as a meter reader until 1982, when the couple retired. Her husband was a postmaster. In addition, she coached girl's softball in her homeland of Arcadia, Washington.

Lou Erickson is part of Women in Baseball, a permanent display based at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York

Cooperstown, New York

Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York, USA. It is located in the Town of Otsego. The population was estimated to be 1,852 at the 2010 census.The Village of Cooperstown is the county seat of Otsego County, New York...

, which was unveiled in 1988 to honor the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League rather than any individual personality.

Pitching statistics

GP Games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while...	W	L	W-L%	ERA Earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...	IP Innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two...	H Hit (baseball) In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....	RA Run (baseball) In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...	ER Earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...	BB Base on balls A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...	SO Strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....	WHIP Walks plus hits per inning pitched In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched is a sabermetric measurement of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. It is a measure of a pitcher's ability to prevent batters from reaching base...	H/9	BB/9	K/9
55	34	16	.680	2.13	448	343	133	106	122	130	1.04	6.89	2.45	2.61

Sources