A year after finishing near the bottom of the pack, the Brescia University softball team was on the verge of making the conference tournament with a host of new faces on the depth chart. Four former Apollo and Owensboro Catholic players were key this season for the much-improved Lady Bearcats squad.
Hayden Pulliam and Haylee Frizzell are a pair of freshmen who came in from Apollo, while Haley Carter is a freshman who played for Owensboro Catholic. Another Lady Aces graduate, Lauren Willett, transferred to Brescia after a season at Thomas More University.
Willett was the ace in the circle for the Lady Bearcats, leading the team to 10 of their 15 wins. She threw 17 complete games and finished with a 2.50 ERA, allowing 109 hits and striking out 65 batters.
Willett said it’s been nice returning to her hometown where she has more time with her family, but more importantly Willet has improved her skills on the field.
“I’ve definitely gotten better at vocalizing what I want as a leader,” she said. “I didn’t really know very many people, but I was made a captain early in the year. That put a lot of pressure on me to be a leader of the team. That’s probably the biggest thing I’ve learned at Brescia is to lead vocally and not just silently.”
Bresica finished the season with an overall record of 15-24, going 7-11 in River States Conference play. Last year, the Lady Bearcats finished 6-22 overall and 2-16 in the conference.
“We’ve had our ups and downs, but one thing that has remained consistent is we’ve been a team the entire time,” Willett said. “We play as a team and work as a team. On and off the field we’re a team and a family. That’s one of the things emphasized really early. I think that’s helped us to do as well as we have. We can always do better and we always want to do better.”
Pulliam, who primarily played center field, said the support from both teammates and her family has allowed her to have confidence. She said her mental toughness has improved by staying local at Brescia.
“Staying at home was what I was going to do no matter what,” Pulliam said. “It’s definitely good to have the support from my family and friends.”
Pulliam had a strong season at the plate, finishing with a .322 average and 13 extra-base hits, and she scored 19 times. She also led the team with 20 stolen bases on 22 attempts.
Like Pulliam, Frizzell said playing at Brescia allowed her to stay close to her family and develop a stronger mental game.
“Softball is very much a mental game,” Frizzell said. “In college it doesn’t get any easier. Being here, I’ve really worked on being mentally prepared and it’s helped me improve on everything else.”
Frizzell, who plays first base, also put up solid offensive numbers as a freshman. Despite a period of struggling at the plate, Frizzell still hit .290 on the season and was one of three players with a home run.
“We went through a period where we were in a big hitting slump,” she said. “It was looking like we weren’t going to get out of it but we did and we worked hard. The biggest thing that helped us was we all want to be successful and we are a team that helps each other.”
Carter played third base this season for Brescia, and she said her biggest improvements don’t show up in the stat books. Similar to her freshman teammates, a strong support system helped Carter develop confidence. And with nearly everyone returning next year, Carter has high hopes for her sophomore campaign.
“My confidence in myself has grown, and that has helped me on and off the field,” she said. “The team chemistry is still going to be there next year. It’s going to keep the team strong and we’ll just add new assets.”
Brescia head coach Traci Smith, in her 14th season, said it was a great season considering the youthfulness of the team.
“I brought in 18 newcomers with a lot of athleticism which allowed me to fill in vital positions,” she said. “Our goals that we met was we more than doubled our wins, did better in conference play and came together as a team.”
Moving forward, Smith is not only hoping to make the RSC tournament — she’s hoping to bring home the trophy.
“With the exception of a couple of players that will not return, the core of the team will be returning, so we are expecting even better outcomes next season,” Smith said. “We will build on our improvements this year going into next season. The important accomplishment this year was how we came together and play as a team.”
