Little Trying to Earn More College Starts

Utility player Lauren Little is trying to earn regular playing time.

As a freshman for the Rhodes College (Tenn.) softball team last year, the La Grange High School graduate batted .364 in playing 11 of the team’s 21 games. She started four times.

This spring she played in 16 of the team’s 35 games and started four, two as a designated player and two as a catcher. Aside from the starts, her appearances were as a pinch hitter. She hit .261 with six runs batted in.

The team had three other utility players, and two of those earned more starts. Uncertain when she’ll be needed on the field, she has had to adjust.

“It has been pretty difficult. You have to stay engaged the whole time,” she said. “Knowing I can go in at any time, it keeps you really focused. You go up there (to bat) hungry to succeed.”

The 5-foot-4 Little had a one-run double and single in two at-bats in her first game, as a designated player against Covenant College.

In her third game, as a pinch hitter against Mississippi University for Women, she delivered a three-run double to give the Lynx a 6-3 lead in the sixth inning of the loss.

She saw the pitch she wanted and said she was able to “keep my hands inside the ball” to drive it.

“I have a pretty aggressive approach at the plate,” she said. “They were throwing a lot of outside pitches. That’s one of my favorite pitches to hit.”

Little has tweaked her swing. “I needed to work on staying back on the ball, waiting for pitches to come to me instead of lunging,” she said. “I was able to hit the ball better with more power.”

In her first year as a catcher, she finished with a .944 fielding percentage in 17 chances.

“I was pleasantly surprised. Knowing that a lot of girls put their whole careers into catching, I think I surprised myself,” she said. “I loved every part of it.”

More softball

Concordia University Texas freshman Macey Thompson hit .350 in starting seven of the nine games she played. The freshman out of Schulenburg High had two RBIs and three stolen bases in four attempts.

Send updates about area athletes to Barbara Boxleitner at jdanddoc@gmail.com.