What is it like to watch graduate student catcher Hannah Borden's signature home runs? Her teammates describe it as an electric moment they anticipate whenever No. 32 is at-bat.
"The question is, how far did it go, and when is it going to land," third baseman Mikaila Fox said. "That's the question I always ask myself. You watch it go, go, go, and then it doesn't fall-it just goes into space."
From the moment Borden steps up to the plate to her namesake walkout anthem, "Hannah Montana," the dugout starts a roaring cheer demanding, "We want a Borden bomb."
During her tenure at Southern Miss, teammates and fans watching at the Southern Miss Softball Complex have seen their fair share of Borden Bombs, a play that has characterized the catcher's demeanor and business-like approach to the sport.
"What makes Hannah special on the field is she never lets the moment get too big or too small," sophomore Maddie Moody said. "There is never a doubt in my mind whenever Hannah steps up to the plate, that something amazing is about to happen."
Not many moments could have been much bigger Sunday as Borden stepped up to the plate in a rubber match against Marshall with bases loaded on two outs. On the first pitch of her at-bat, the graduate student catcher fittingly shattered the program's all-time home run record, previously held by Megan Hill, with her 42nd career home run on a grand slam.
Not only did Borden break the record in dramatic fashion, but she stepped up to the moment, giving the Golden Eagles the difference it needed in an 8-5 victory, which secured the program's first home conference series win in the Sun Belt. Hannah Borden celebrates after she breaks the program's home run record. How did the moment feel?
"Really good," Borden said with a laugh. "I have worked hard to get here, and I know I deserve it, and I've earned it, so it feels really great."
Borden's record-setting tenure at Southern Miss is the culmination of a long-winded journey in softball. The Trussville, Ala., native has been hitting home runs since she hit her first one in 2009 for the 8U Red Storm.
At an early age, Borden's parents, Ruth and Craig Borden, introduced her to various sports, but Hannah says that softball was the one that "stuck", following in the footsteps of her older sister, who she played with.
Borden honors her parents as the role models who have continued to help her develop throughout her journey, along with her youth coaches Taylor Burt, Keith Dorsett and Rocky Thompson.
"My dad has always been there to help whenever we needed it and drove me everywhere. As I got a little older, my mom started taking me to all the tournaments. Our last tournament was a little sentimental," Borden said. Borden celebrates Senior Day at the end of the 2023 season with her family.Borden soon started to catch the eyes of Southern Miss and others on her travel ball team. Even then, Fox, who played with Borden on the Birmingham Thunderbolts, recognized Borden's talents.
"My first impression of her was that she's tall, and she hits absolute bombs," Fox said.
Borden continued to develop, earning First Team All-State honors in 2018 and 2019, and leading Trussville High School to a state championship as the 7A Player of the Year in 2019. She made her commitment to Southern Miss in 2019.
Like she made her first impression on Fox in travel ball, Borden made an immediate impact in her first game as a Golden Eagle, hitting a double in her first at-bat against Mississippi Valley State and launching a home run later in the game.
"When I first saw her, I thought, 'Okay, she's pretty good', and then she started doing these things in these games as a freshman. That's when I knew she was really good," assistant coach Izzy Werdann said.
Borden continued to impress in her freshman campaign, batting a near .400 average before the COVID-19 pandemic cut the season short at 22 games.
Borden struggled to meet that mark again in her sophomore and junior seasons but still produced over 30 hits and nine home runs each year. Still, she felt that she had hit a wall trying to replicate her career's start. She said that changed when head coach Natalie Poole and her staff arrived at Southern Miss.
"When they got here, I felt a switch flip," Borden said. "Those two years were tough because I thought I was just not the player I used to be when that wasn't true. But that's something that I felt for a couple of years, and when the new coaching staff came in, that changed for me and they helped bring my confidence back."
In a crowd of new faces, Poole remembers Borden walking into the first team meeting with her daily cup of coffee in hand ready to work. Poole, who played as a catcher in her career, soon realized Borden's prowess at the position.
"It takes a minute, even when somebody talks about particular athletes that make a difference in the program, you want to put your eyes on it," Poole said. "I'm tough on the catcher position and expect a lot from that position. That was a lot of fun for me to see her be able to manage the pitchers the way that she does. I don't have to look at that position a lot because I know the ball will be stopped, and she will do those things really well for us." Hannah Borden has started over 200 career games as catcher for Southern Miss. While Poole knew Borden had the catcher position locked down, the new coaching staff worked with her on hitting. Borden credited her growth to working with assistant coach and hitting coach Aaron Longenecker, who Borden said especially helped her with pitch selection.
"Borden has elite bat speed and elite level exit velocities on batted balls, which sets her up for a lot of success," Longenecker said. "She had a great season last year, and then coming into this year, I think she has a better understanding of what locations and pitches she will be successful with. She has a better plan and knows what she wants."
With the help of the coaching staff, Borden reached her goal of hitting above .300 for the first time since her freshman campaign, setting career highs with 46 hits, 11 doubles and 11 home runs, leading Southern Miss to its first conference tournament appearance since 2019 while earning Second Team All-Sun Belt honors in 2023.
Borden reached new levels in her senior campaign, setting a program record with three home runs in one game against South Alabama on April 28, 2023. Borden hit three home runs alone in her freshman season.
"It was awesome. I had never done that before, and it was a big confidence booster," Borden said.
That confidence and commitment to approach has carried over into this season as Borden is on pace to climb many program leaderboards.
Borden broke the home run record in 19 fewer games than the previous record holder, Hill, and is also chasing Hill's single-season record of 15 home runs. After 30 matches through the season, Borden already has a conference-high ten home runs, which is one shy of her personal high. Having enjoyed a career-long 16-game hitting streak this season, Borden has posted 38 hits and a conference-best 31 RBI.
Borden also has the chance this season to break former teammate Tata Davis' all-time records for most RBI and doubles. Head coach Natalie Poole hands Hannah Borden her record-breaking ball from the Trussville, Ala., native's 42nd career home run. While Borden continues to slash through the record books, she says she wants to be remembered for the type of teammate she was at Southern Miss.
"You're not going to remember everything someone does on the field, so I want to be remembered as someone who was a good teammate and who did all they could to encourage their teammates to always put their best foot forward," Borden said.
When talking to Borden's teammates about her character, they unanimously compliment the catcher as consistently calm and collected--a player who never gets too high or too low.
"She has the ability to keep her temperament even throughout the whole game. I know she can be frustrated at times, but she never shows it. She's really good at keeping it on one plane," Werdann said.
And while Borden may not be as expressive or vocal as other players, it's through this infectious temperament that coaches say she leads through example.
"She is somebody that everybody looks to," Poole said. "She brings a level of energy and consistency that people want to see and it helps the people behind her when they see her do well."
When junior designated player and pitcher Jana Lee first joined Southern Miss, she said she looked up to Borden as a player and soon developed a relationship working together behind the plate and as a friend. As Lee follows the leadoff hitter in the second spot, she calls Borden, "the one to my two", a coined phrase for the duo's impact on the field and their friendship grown through three years of playing with each other.
"It's a great experience to have someone back there who knows and adores you, wants to be better for you, and wants to do well for the team. She's all about business on the field, but off the field, she's a jokester. She's just an amazing person," Lee said.
Borden's qualities as a friend are something that her roommates Worrell and Maddie Moody also attest to, from late-night talks and playing "Among Us" on road trips to watching Borden cook her favorite pasta dishes or writing essays as she works towards completing her master's in business administration. Borden poses for a picture with Caroline Worrell, her roommate and teammate since her freshman year in 2019. With five years of memories from her first day on campus as a freshman to now as a graduate student, Borden said she has always felt at home as a Golden Eagle alongside her teammates and coaches in Hattiesburg.
"I have loved the culture, where I live, I love my teammates, the coaches, the facilities, and everything since I have been here. They have always believed in me…Southern Miss was one of the places that I felt believed in me and really wanted me to come here. It felt like I had a chance to do something special if I came here," Borden said.
With 22 games remaining in the 2024 regular season, Borden looks to close her time at Southern Miss positively following her first career conference tournament appearance last season.
Regardless of what is to come in just over the one month remaining this season, Borden has already cemented her legacy at Southern Miss. While her new record may not stand the test of time, her character, determination and friendship will have a lasting impact on the program.
"I think that she will be someone that people will look after for a long time and want to achieve what she has achieved. She has elevated this program in a way we want to," Poole said.
