Senior infielder Tori Lay balances being a leader on the Nicholls softball team with the workload that comes along with majoring in communicative disorders field.

From Walker to Thibodaux, Lay has brought her experiences as a softball player. Last season as a junior, she was able to see action in 22 games for the Colonels.

Lay values the opportunity to meet new people, and she views her future career as a speech pathologist to be the perfect chance to alter the lives of individuals in a positive way.

Q: What got you interested in playing softball?

A: Growing up, I was always a daddy’s girl, and I wanted to be just like him. He played slow pitch when I was a kid, and we would sit at ballparks all night long watching him play. So I guess you could say after watching him play for a while, I decided I wanted to play too.

Q: What was your favorite memory from a game you’ve had at Nicholls?

A: My favorite, funniest memory at Nicholls is a toss-up between two incidents from my freshman year. The first is when Coach yelled at me to stop playing “flippy” cup in her dugout between innings, and the other is when a senior decided to catch the wall in the dugout to distract the other team.

Q: Would you rather play professional softball or own a speech therapy clinic?

A: I would have to go with owing my own speech therapy clinic. At any moment in the game, you can hurt yourself, and your career could be over for good. Also, by having my own speech clinic I would be helping a variety of people change their lives for the better.

Q: Do you have any pregame rituals or superstitions?

A: I use to be really superstitious in the past to where I wore my hair the exact same way every game with the same ribbon. I would have to eat a bag of skittles throughout the game. I wore my eye black exactly the same way, and many more, but I would be here forever. I’m trying not to be superstitious this year, but it’s hard. When on the road, I do have to room with Ashley Ray though.

Q: What is your favorite pastime when your softball season is over? Why?

A: Softball has been such a big part of my life that I’m not exactly sure what I will do when it is over.

Q: Would you rather watch a comedy or a scary movie?

A: Most definitely a comedy. I don’t even think a movie is worth watching unless I laugh during it. Not to mention, if I could laugh every second of my life, I would. Anyone who really knows me knows I am not a serious person, and I joke about 97% of the time. Plus, I hate being scared!

Q: If you received a million dollar check, what would be the first thing you buy?

A: The ideal answer for this question would be to buy a house or to pay off my student loans. But realistically, I would probably buy an icee, a new puppy and shoes.

Q: Do you have any pet peeves?

A: My biggest pet peeve would have to be when I just make my bed in the mornings, and someone sits on it. A superstition I have in life is that if my bed is messed up or if my pillows are not the correct way, then I will have a bad day. So when people sit on my bed in the middle of the day, it gets under my skin.

Q: If you could live in any location in the world, where would it be?

A: Probably Hawaii. I have never been, but the pictures of Hawaii are just so pretty, and plus everyone that I talk to says it is beautiful. It’s one of my top three places I want to travel to, and if I went and never came back, I wouldn’t complain.

Q: What’s your favorite part about being a member of the Nicholls softball team?

A: My favorite part of being on the team is having the opportunity to meet the people I’ve met thus far.