The Lady Colonels softball team discovered that, despite the old saying “defense can win championships,” a good offense isn’t such a bad thing either.That’s because the players find themselves ranked towards the top of the conference in every offensive category.
Head softball coach Jenny Parsons said unlike last season, this year’s squad takes a better approach at the plate.
“(Hitting coach) Frank (Butler) teaches the girls to sit on one side or how to have a different approach at the plate,” Parsons said. “The girls know what they are looking for when they step up to the plate.”
Out of the 10 teams in the Southland Conference, the Lady Colonels are ranked second in batting average (.281), second in slugging percentage (.474), second in RBIs (213), second in hits (363) and second in home runs with 49.
The 49 home runs already hit this year broke the school record for home runs in a season. Last year, the Lady Colonels set the mark with 31 home runs. The Lady Colonels also rank first in runs scored with 236.
Butler, who just recently joined the Colonels coaching staff, said hitting the deep ball is something that the Lady Colonels practice.
“It’s something that we develop in the swing,” Butler said. “It’s the bat angle and the way we swing the bat. We try to get the ball out of the dirt; sometimes it doesn’t work and the ball falls in. Usually when they fall in and the team is hitting right, the balls are hit hard enough to where they get through quick, so that is something we work on.”
In addition to the conference rankings, the Lady Colonels are also ranked 16th in the nation in home runs per game (1.02).
Parsons said this is the best she has seen the team hit since she arrived at Nicholls.
“They look really comfortable at the plate, and they swing the bats hard,” Parsons said. “(Senior infielder) Brandi (Hahn) is having a great year, (junior infielder) Leah (Peterson) is having a great year and (sophomore short-stop) Kat Harrell is having a phenomenal year. They work hard in practice, and it’s really paying off.”
Offensively, the Lady Colonels have four players hitting above .300.
Harrell leads all Lady Colonels and the conference with a .394 batting average. Hahn is second on the team, batting .368, followed by Peterson (.325) and senior catcher Meghan Mulcahy (.305).
Butler said this team has potential to be even better.
“If they continue to do what they are doing and the work ethics continue, there is no doubt in my mind they could be No. 1 overall in conference,” Butler said.
Hahn also believes that this is one of the best teams that she has been on.
“We’ve had the potential to do it all four years I’ve been here, but we’ve struggled trying to put it into effect,” Hahn said. “I think this is the first year we’ve been confident enough at the plate to know what kind of hitters we are.”
Overall Butler said he’s pleased with the way the team has hit this season.
“The trick is the hard work that they put into it,” Butler said. “There are some things that we do that I think are basic to hitting, but it takes a lot of time and work to develop that. Some of the kids figure it out quicker than others.”
Butler added, “It’s just a lot of hours of work. We try to stay consistent the whole time. It’s something they have to do everyday, and it takes a lot of time, but it’s going to work if they put into it.
