INTRODUCTION: As athletic competition and college athletics continue to grow and flourish, there is an increased emphasis on game preparation. Collegiate softball pitchers are expected to handle an immense amount of pressure, perform with precision, and incur few errors. PURPOSE: Examine the Ironic Process Theory related to fast pitch softball pitching and to determine how knowing information about an opponent’s strengths affects experienced pitcher’s performance under pressure. METHODS: Experienced college softball pitchers (n = 12) were recruited as subjects. Each pitcher was randomly instructed through two 30 pitch phases (a high and low pressure phase) with two different conditions: black target only condition (BOTC) or black and red target condition (BRTC). Subjects were asked to aim and hit the black target and avoid the red target. The black target represented the weakness of the opponent and the red target represented the strength of the opponent. Performance pressure was measured before each phase using the Mental Readiness Form (MRF-3) (Krane, 1994). RESULTS: Pre-MRF-3 reached statistical significance across the between-subjects factor of pressure, [t(22) = 3.102, p = 0.005] with a mean difference of 4.75 (95% C.I. 1.57 to 7.92) indicating that the pressure situation induced an increase in perceived anxiety and stress. ANCOVA did not reach statistical significance on the main effects of black targets hit nor the interactions terms for black targets hit by MRF-3 and black targets hit by Pressure. This finding asserts that there was no difference in performance between BRTC and BOTC across pressure after adjusting for perceived anxiety. There was no statistically significant difference of red target hit between the high pressure and low pressure situations, d = 0.25 (95% C.I. -0.463 to 0.963), t(22) = 0.723, p = 0.963. DISCUSSION: Practically speaking, the pitchers in this study did perform more effectively in the high pressure situation. Although different from previous Ironic Theory research, it is important to note this increased ability for pitchers to hit a desired target while under pressure. Even if not statistically significant, this can help pitchers and coaches understand the link between pressure and performance more effectively, and add training components to improve in stress situations.