University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Turning Two with Charity Butler
3/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 14, 2006
On the season so far:
"I expected us to get off to a better start than we did, but lately we've been playing better. We took a loss this past Sunday (9-1 against Marshall) in our conference opening weekend that brought us to 2-1 in C-USA, whereas we would have preferred to have started out conference play at 3-0. We've been getting it together these past few weeks and playing better. We beat Alabama last week, who was ranked number six in the nation, and we beat Mississippi State who was number 24. I think we're headed in the right direction, and it's starting to show. I'm excited and ready to play again on Thursday (against Ole Miss at 5 and 7 at the Southern Miss Softball Complex). It's been weird not playing these past few days because last weeke we had about thirteen games in eight days. However, we're excited to play Ole Miss especially being at home, and we usually play well at home. We have a lot of people back from injuries. Both Sam (Davis) and Krystal (Crooks) are back pitching and doing well. Nicole Chisholm has been out due to ankle surgery, but she has been getting herself back up to strength. There are a lot of good things going on. A lot of our hitters are starting to come around. This past weekend, we had a better batting average and more hits than Marshall; we're just not getting the clutch hits. We're getting people on base, but we need to score them. I also got to play in my hometown of Pensacola, which was cool. It would have been nice to have won the game, but there were still a lot of family and friends there to support me."
On balancing school and softball:
"I only have eight and a half hours this semester because that's all I needed to graduate, which is truly a blessing. The first eight weeks were hard due to the way the business department has had to organize the semester with two periods of eight week classes in a semester. I started my last class today. It's not as difficult as it's been in the past to balance because I have such a light load. I guess it's a delayed gratification because I worked so hard before, and now I can take it a little easier. I'll be able to work extra in the cages and on the field, and I get a lot more rest. I'll be able to enjoy softball and enjoy the girls. I'm not ready to leave yet, so I'm trying to soak in every moment and enjoy it."
On what she needs to work on:
"So far it's been okay. It's not the kind of start that I expected to have, or wanted to have. Last year, several of us started out on fire. The numbers that we put up helped because when we were in a slump, we had something to fall back on. Individually, I didn't start out as good as I did last year, but I've been fairly consistent. Personally, I don't look at numbers because it sticks in my head. I would rather not know. I want to become more consistent at the plate; it seems that either I hit a double or I don't get on. It's never in-between. I feel like I'm stronger than I've ever been, so if I can get more consistent at the plate, I'll be happy.
On what she has learned over the past four years:
"I've definitely grown as a player. We've been through leaps and bounds over the last four years. I've also grown as a person which helps me to be a better player. I'm really grasping the team concept of "the link." We all wear a link around our neck which we had to earn our freshman year. Once you earn it, you don't take it off. We wear it all year and all summer and get a new one when we come back at the beginning of the year. When we graduate, we get a gold link. The concept is that you take a piece of the team with you wherever you go, and you're only as strong as your weakest link. It's carried over even in life with other things. God has helped me grow such much in my walk and my faith. There are good days and hard days, and now there are a lot more good than bad. It's been a blessing to be here in the position I'm in now."
