Published: May 08, 2008 10:35 am            

Bobcats’ Killer B’s

College Softball

San Marcos — Mackenzie Baack didn’t want to play softball competitively after high school. She changed her mind three years later and decided to attend an open tryout for the Texas State softball team.

The Bobcats were coming off a 32-26 year and had no one batting better than .300 overall. Texas State head coach Ricci Woodard didn’t even want to have tryouts, because in her mind, “we already had a full roster and I don’t want to deal with 20 females.”

But Woodard was convinced to have tryouts by assistant coach Peejay Brun and the date was set. Woodard didn’t look at the list before she walked out to Bobcat Field, but when she saw the players, she recognized one automatically – Baack.

“I said, this kid, if she’s capable of doing what she did in high school, she’s the real deal,” Woodard said. “I didn’t even know she was going to school here anyway. I knew she didn’t want to play ball when she got out of high school, so I didn’t even track her. I was excited (when I saw her out there).”

Baack didn’t show any rust at the tryouts and Woodard said it was a no-brainer to offer her a spot on the team. Since Baack hadn’t seen live pitching in over three years, Woodard was timid about putting her into the everyday lineup, but her assistants once again convinced her otherwise.

The 5-foot-10 designated player started out slow, trying to regain the form she had at Round Rock High School. After Woodard sat her down before conference play started and discussed the finer points of hitting, Baack saw her batting average climb.

“Things really started to click right before conference play, which is really good timing,” Baack said. “That’s when everything settled down and I became a lot more confident in myself, which is the key to hitting in my head.”

She’s turned it on against Southland Conference opponents, hitting .400 with five home runs and 18 RBIs. Baack has also scored 18 runs in conference games, while walking 14 times. She had no walks entering conference play.

Baack hit well enough to be named the 2008 Southland Conference Hitter of the Year. She is the first Bobcat to get the award since Kristen Zaleski won them back-to-back in 2003 and 2004.

“I couldn’t believe I won it, since I’ve hadn’t played in a couple of years,” Baack said. “I was just getting back into the feel of things and it just worked out.”

If Baack is the anchor in the middle of the Texas State lineup, Leah Boatright is the chain. Boatright bats behind Baack and boasts an equal pitcher-bashing mentality.

Boatright, a sophomore first baseman, started every game as a freshman and did the same this season. She tied Baack for the team lead in RBIs with 24 and paces the Bobcats with 13 doubles, nine of which came in conference games.

She fell into a slump after a few conference games, but slowly picked it up in the middle of the season. When Texas-Arlington visited Bobcat Field, Boatright feasted on the pitching.

“I struggled before that and then UTA came and I started doing really well and seeing the ball better,” Boatright said. “After that, things started clicking and coming along. I got more confident at the plate.”

Boatright started all 30 games against SLC opponents and is hitting .368. She has drove in 17 of her 24 RBIs in conference games. Boatright was recently named to the All-SLC second team. She’s one of eight Texas State players on the awards teams.

With the SLC conference tournament beginning today at Bobcat Field, both Baack and Boatright know the importance of continuing to swing a hot bat. Texas State holds the top seed and a bye all the way to the semifinals, mainly due to Baack and Boatright’s stellar play.

“Having (them) all right there in the middle of the lineup is dangerous because they all can hit the ball out of the yard and they can all hit doubles all day long,” Woodard said. “They all have a good chance of scoring each other. They are definitely the people you want up there with runners in scoring position, that’s for sure.”

        

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