By Mike London

Salisbury Post

MOUNT ULLA — It surprises people that the relatively tiny Falcon with the 20-letter name and the blonde curls — senior Arabelle Shulenberger — is the one that does the pitching for one of the best softball teams in 3A.

It would be tough to get “Shulenburger” on the back of a jersey.

“Yes, it’s a pretty long name,” Shulenburger explains cheerfully. “I don’t know that there’s a story behind it, but I know it’s German.”

Shulenburger stands 5-foot-3 in her softball shoes, so she scares no one when she walks out to to the circle, but lots of batters make a right turn and shake their heads in frustration. She’s smart and tough and strong from years of weight-lifting, and she’s been a problem for West’s opponents for four years.

West has leaned on her hard. She’s pitched almost every game during her high school career.

“Sure, I get tired sometimes, my legs more so than my arm,” Shulenburger said. “But I always want to be out there.”

She doesn’t normally strike out a lot of people — maybe five or six — but she gets ground balls and pop ups and rarely walks anyone. Experience has taught her that the most important thing a pitcher can do is to throw strikes. If she allows a home run, she wants to make sure it’s a solo.

Part of the reason West Rowan won 20 games in 2022, 2023 and 2024 obviously was NCHSAA Female Athlete of the Year Emma Clarke, who slugged like no one in Rowan County had ever slugged before, but Clarke is at Tennessee now, and the Falcons still are headed for 20 more wins because of five senior starters. Shulenburger is still a rock in the circle and teammates such as EA Nance, Reese Poole and Riley Haggas lead a committee of home-run hitters.

“Arabelle has had a chance to play with some incredible talent, some great high school players, and that’s any pitcher’s dream,” West head coach Jimmy Greene said. “But Arabelle is going to go down as one of those great players. She has worked as hard as anyone in the program — she’s been in the weight room since she got here — and she’s extremely competitive.”

Shulenburger has been in the public eye a while. As a Southeast Middle School student, she was one of the players on the 2019 Rowan Little League team that was the second Rowan team to win the World Series.

She always has been more than a pitcher. She can swing the bat with authority and has surprising power for her stature. She used to play the outfield as a youngster, but her second position now is in the middle infield.

She played travel ball for high-powered Team NC. That led to an offer from Lenoir-Rhyne University. She committed to the Bears last summer and signed officially in November. She’ll be reunited there with Rowan Little League teammate and current South Rowan slugger Kynlee Dextraze.

“My travel team gets scouted by a lot of college coaches and just about everyone was recruited to play somewhere,” Shulenburger said. “Lenoir-Rhyne came to see me play and that led to an official visit and a commitment. I really liked it there and they have a great program. My academic goal is to become an anesthesiologist.”

Shulenburger remembers that her breakthrough performance in high school came when the Falcons finally beat Central Cabarrus her sophomore year. The Vikings were the team to beat when Shulenberger got to high school. That win was a confidence boost that propelled her to big things.

She had several highlights as a junior, including a no-hitter against Lake Norman Charter and hitting for the cycle in a five-inning game against South Rowan on Clarke’s Senior Night. Shulenburger needed the triple, the toughest requirement for the cycle, to complete it, and she accomplished that feat.

West didn’t play particularly well in the early going this season, and Shulenburger was giving up more runs than usual, but then things settled down and got back to normal.

“We had a few fielding episodes early in the season,” Greene said. “But then we started to hit and to make more plays behind Arabelle.”

Greene says Shulenburger has a strong personality, but they usually can get on the same page as far as the pitching game plan.

“Coaching is all about forming relationships, and it’s been awesome to watch her grow into the player that she is now,” he said. “Her work ethic has led to her having her finest season as a senior. She’s pitching better than she ever has. What I’m going to remember about her is her heart and her desire and her competitiveness. It’s been an honor to coach her.”

Shulenburger had hit four homers this season, including two in the past week. She’s gotten hot and went 7-for-8 at the plate on Wednesday and Thursday. She’s batting .444 with 17 RBIs, while maintaining a 2.70 ERA in the circle.

Recently, Shulenburger made a rare appearance in the West outfield, with Raney Phelps taking the circle, and promptly threw out a base runner.

“We’ll probably be hearing about that throw for the next 40 years,” Greene said with laugh. “That’s the only time Arabelle has seen the grass this season – except when she’s running poles.”

The biggest games for Shulenberger and the Falcons are still ahead, with East Rowan visiting Mount Ulla on Tuesday. Shulenburger struck out eight and walked one, but West still lost 6-0 when the Falcons played at East. The teams are tied for first in the SPC with 13-1 records. West is sixth in the 3A West RPI rankings, while the Mustangs are second behind Enka.