Otto Shines as a Two-Sport Collegiate Athlete at Southwestern University

Multi-sport athlete Erica Otto has momentum going into the fall volleyball season.

The Schulenburg High School athlete enjoyed a successful spring softball season for Southwestern University. The freshman outfielder batted .287 with 12 runs batted in, second on the squad, in 34 games. She led the team with three triples.

“After volleyball, I was unsure how softball would go,” the rising sophomore said. “I am glad I got a spot on the softball team. All the experience I got in softball will hopefully help me with volleyball.”

She opened the season as a backup left fielder, then had to step in as a starter after a teammate’s injury. She played center field as well.

“I needed to come out and be ready to play,” she said. “My mentality switched. I was in the 9 hole. There wasn’t a whole lot of pressure.”

Batting low in the order, Otto started stringing together hits. She had a season-high five-game hitting streak, including four with multiple hits, in early April. She finished the season with at least two hits in seven games.

She changed her hitting approach from high school, when she said she typically waited for “the perfect pitch” and wound up in deep counts.

Instead, she realized “you need to be more aggressive,” she said. “You’re going to have to attack their pitches.”

One of her two three-hit games was against Hardin-Simmons. In three at-bats of the loss, she tripled to right field, hit a one-run double to left center and added a onerun double to right center.

While Otto started in softball, she played just two volleyball matches last fall, finishing with two kills in each. The youngest of four right side hitters, she was one of the two shortest in that group at 5-foot-9.

“All my timing was off. It was a totally different speed,” she said. “I would practice and started getting better toward the end.”

This summer she is concentrating on volleyball to “see if I can claim a spot on that team,” she said. “I’m focusing on my hitting, my footwork, movement of the ball and control.”

Women’s outdoor track and field

Montserrat De Santiago was the high scorer for the Savannah College of Art and Design women at the Sun Conference championship. The La Grange High alumna won the 800 and placed third in the 1,500 and fourth in the 5,000. She was a member of the 4-by-800 that finished second and the 4-by-400 that was fourth. She earned all-conference honors for the 800, 1,500 and 4-by-800.

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