University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Q&A with Softball Redshirt Sophomore Samantha Robles
2/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- With the 2016 season just around the corner, Golden Eagle fans have the opportunity to get to know redshirt sophomore Samantha Robles. She is a native of Texas City, Texas and starting pitcher for the Southern Miss softball team. Robles missed most of the 2015 season with an injury, but was able to obtain a medical redshirt to preserve her year of eligibility.
How is your health?
It is good. My shoulder and my knee are feeling real good after last year. Those few months off I had really helped. My dad and I got back into it right after summer. In the fall, I was feeling really good. Coach (Coy) Adkins and Ben (Elliott) are always there to help with any nicks or uncomfortableness I was feeling. Right now, going into the season, I feel A1, 100-percent.
What is it like to be a sophomore again?
Really good. I know I didn't play a lot of games last year, but I did get a pretty good amount of games under my belt. I feel like that experience is really going to help this year. I feel like I have a year and a half of experience with three years to play so I feel like I have an edge on the competition. As I get older, hopefully I will have more experience under my belt to be a better leader for this team. Be what they need me to be.
How difficult was it sit out last season?
It was worse on home games than it was away game. With road games, I wasn't there I couldn't do anything. At home, I felt like there was nothing I could do even though I was just 10 feet away. Every time I stood there, I wanted to help, but had to tell myself, `Just get healthy Sami.' I tried to really focus on working hard with Ben and working hard in the weight room with things that I could do to get healthy to be ready for this season because last season, I couldn't. There is nothing I could do about it. You can only control what you can control. I took all of my want and drive to help my team last year and really focused it towards this year so I could do all that I can to help us have a winning season this year.
How did sitting out most of last season change you?
It has made me more competitive and more of a game player. I had a season-ending injury my senior year of high school and I didn't take that very well. I am not good at sitting out. I don't like it at all. That changed me for the worst. I grew from that. This last semester I really focused on having a positive attitude and being as happy as I could be for my team because I knew they were having a tough time. I knew it was a tough season and I really wanted to be there for them the best I could since I couldn't be with them on the field. I am trying to keep that same mentality this year. That same happy mentality. The same there for them mentality. Doing everything I can to make sure they are having a great time on the field and we are all having a great time playing Southern Miss softball. It is not Sami Robles softball. It is Southern Miss softball.
Do you think your injury refocused you?
Yes. I love softball so much. Every time I have the opportunity to be reborn into the sport and feel the same fire I had when I was five years old to come out and play is reignited. This last fall, I came out ready to have fun and play softball and not worry so much about the wins and losses, pitching well or hitting well, because I didn't get to do it for five months.
What kind of a different has pitching coach Coy Adkins made?
Last year, I worked on everything I learned in the past. I have had a cast of amazing pitching coaches. They knew their stuff so I really just pulled on all of the stuff that I could remember from them to really focus in. This year, it is great to have Coach Adkins there. Someone to bounce ideas off of. I had to grow up a lot last year as a pitcher. I didn't have someone right there with me. Now, I have that same growth and also have someone who is very knowledgeable and loves the sport and loves us as girls pitching for him. I like having someone to bounce ideas off of and be able to work with as more of a grown up pitcher
On being a pitcher who bats...
I love it. I am a control freak. Not only am I hugely competitive, I like to be in control. I think that is why I chose to pitch over everything else. The same goes with my hitting. It is not something I don't think the other girls on our team can do, because I know they can. We have great hitters on our team. They are very capable. It is just something about me in the circle and in the lineup. It is fun. I like to play both sides of the game. I don't know what I would do if I were a pitcher only.
How difficult is it to compartmentalize between pitching and hitting?
When I was younger, it was a little easier. There is different levels of play. If you are just out there having fun, it isn't a big deal. Here, it is your job. If you don't perform well, you aren't going to play because we are here to win ballgames. My freshman year, I was really bad at it. I didn't compartmentalize well at all. If I struck out, you could really see it in the circle. If I gave up a couple of runs, you could really see me forcing at the plate. Last year, I felt good. It is two different parts of the game. As a pitcher, you see one side of the plate. As a batter, you see the other. It was a big adjustment. It was learning what I know from being a pitcher throwing to a catcher and seeing how the umpire is calling balls and strikes and using that information at the plate, but not letting that information overpower what I am there to do. I have been a hitter since I was four years old. It is really just relaxing, getting at the plate and being comfortable. It is easier to give up two runs and go in and hit. I know that we can put runs up on the board like that. It is harder when I strikeout to go back out and pitch. I start to force in the circle to try to make up for what I just did. It was a growing process. At 20 years old, I am starting to mature. I am not so much of a baby. Being away from my parents has helped. Having to deal with softball and school on my own has helped, having to compartmentalize that helps compartmentalize hitting and pitching.
Do you think seeing how umpires are calling pitches helps with batting?
I have a big strike zone when I pitch and a tiny strike zone when I bat. It is double edged sword. You have to balance on the edge sometimes. Sometimes it helps you out and others it bites you in the butt.
What is it like heading into the season with this lineup?
I like it. I have always been six inches taller than everyone I've ever played with. My old teams was Sami Robles hits home runs and everyone else bunts and moves around the bases real fast. I don't run fast at all. It is nice to have players out there that hit home runs, doubles, and triples. They can make it to third, I can only jog it into second. It is nice to have those girls. If I strikeout with a runner on second, it takes a lot of stress off my shoulders because I know Katie Cleary, Tori Dew, Lauren Holifield, or Sarah (Evans) are some of the best hitters in our league. I know they will get the job done. It has helped me be a better batter because if I don't succeed there are five other girls that are about to put one over the fence. It relieves some stress and relaxes me. We have such great talent on this team. Sam Reynolds can get up there and I know she is about to score someone in. Honestly, this year with the talent we have, I am ready to see what we do. I don't think it matters if it is one of our big hitters or Kaelyn Christofferson, or Arielle Pollock, or Sam Reynolds at the plate with runners in scoring position because they will get the job done.
What, as a player, has the Diamond Club's contributions to softball meant?
It is indescribable. I can't put it into words. I think Coach Adkins is correct. It is the Wendy Hogue effect. Coach Hogue is adored by this community and has been for years. She is not afraid to promote it. She is not afraid to go out and talk to people. At practice, we have new faces come out just to see us. She does such a great job as a PR rep, getting out there in the world promoting us. She also does such a great job at practice that we look good every day. It is bringing people in to see softball and they begin to love softball because they see what we can do. I don't know how many people are in the Diamond Club but it has grown from last year to this year. We wouldn't be Southern Miss softball without them. They are refurbishing our locker room. It looks great. I wish everyone could come and see it. We have our trophies in there now. We have new painted walls. Our batting cage is immaculate. We had a full practice in there when it rained. I don't know the last time I had a full practice inside. We are able to do that. The new wind screen. The weight room on campus is being fixed up, but we have a wonderful weight room at our field, which has a lot to do with our boosters. It is not just the 23 players. It is the 23 of us, plus the coaches, plus Ben, plus all the boosters. Southern Miss Softball isn't just who you see on the field every game. It is the people behind the scenes helping out. People wouldn't imagine how much the community does for us. It is great. I absolutely love it.
How excited are you for the season?
My expectation is that we are going to have a winning season no matter what. We were preseason ranked No. 12 in our Conference USA Preseason Poll. Based off of last year, that would be a good representation of our team, but they don't understand the kind of talent we have now. We have so many new faces and the returners, you can see how hard they've worked. It is very obtainable for us to come out there and jump on some teams that aren't expecting it and compete for a conference championship. I firmly believe that is a realistic expectation. I think all 23 of us and the coaching staff and everyone who is out there with us every day thinks that is an obtainable expectation. We have worked hard and really changed the mentality of the program. I read Katie Cleary's interview and she mentioned the #LOVE that it has really focused the team and our mindset on what we are here to do, which is win ballgames. Coach Hogue, Coach Sher, and Coach Adkins are laying down a foundation with this season. You are going to see some great things.
Do you ever look at Courtney Blades' records and use them as motivation?
Oh yeah. Coming in my freshman year, I heard some of the community say the name, but I really didn't know that much about her. I looked her up and she is in the top 10 all-time in NCAA strikeouts. She has an amazing record, not only at Southern Miss, but in NCAA Division I softball as well. I learned a little bit about her. Last year, I got to meet her. She threw out the first pitch, and I thought, `Dang! She's still got it.' In flip flops and a skirt. She is amazing. I tried to look her up. I found a couple of videos, which is difficult because she threw before the internet was really big. She threw hard and had a great rise ball. I think she made an impact on this community and this University for softball. It is something I would like to for myself. I think every pitcher everywhere would like to have that same effect. If you look at what she did for Southern Miss softball, she put them on the map. She took the team to the World Series. I know it is not just one player; it is a team. Every little girl has a dream of being that player. That pitcher. I would love to try to beat some of her records in the next couple of years. I know she holds quite a lot of them. It will be a challenge, but why not?
The Southern Miss softball team is scheduled to play a 55-game schedule that includes 26 games at the Southern Miss Softball Complex. In addition, the Golden Eagles will play 19 games against 11 different teams that played in NCAA Regionals last season. Southern Miss begins the 2016 campaign at the Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores, Ala. on Feb. 12-14. The Golden Eagles host Alabama State in a doubleheader at the Softball Complex to open up the 2016 home campaign on Wednesday, Feb. 17.
