Post by elon_phan on Apr 19, 2007 19:54:12 GMT -5
Graham grad creates softball home with Elon
Brian Paglia / Times-News correspondent
April 19, 2007 3:00 AM
ELON - These clouds are bothering Elon University's Laurin Smith. She could tolerate a dreary afternoon game with a gentle breeze and a thick, darkening group of clouds passing above East Field.
She could tolerate the backdrop of freight trains that roar by in the middle of innings just a deep home run away from home plate.
None of that matters as long as Elon is winning and Smith's swing is pure. But Elon's softball team is down 1-0 to Western Carolina, one of the lower-echelon teams in the Southern Conference. And Smith hasn't had a hit in four games.
"I get in a slump and it's in my head," said the senior first baseman, a graduate of Graham High School. "When it comes, I know it. It's wondering if I should swing at this ball. I start thinking way too much instead of just hitting like I used to."
That's when Smith's mind feels heavy and burdened and sometimes as gloomy as those ominous clouds. But they soon pass, drifting away with the breeze, and Smith comes to the plate in the sixth inning.
She takes reckless swings at the first two pitches and misses. That's the approach she had in high school, when she was a standout shortstop for the Red Devils and played on the girls' basketball team.
"In high school, I was a first-pitch swinger," Smith said. "If it hit the dirt, I didn't care. I swung at it. I just couldn't stop myself because I was so anxious."
In the winter, she directed the Red Devils at the point guard position. When spring came, she pulled out her cleats to play infield. A myriad of Division II and III colleges came calling, and Smith was set on going to Methodist in Fayetteville to play both sports.
But two days before Methodist expected her to move in, Smith sat with her father late into the night, the thought of her future weighing heavy on her mind.
"That's not what I want to do," Smith told her dad.
"Well, make up your mind," he said, "and you need to do it fast."
Smith went to Alamance Community College for a year. She carpooled with the same friends from high school. Not the original plan, but it would have to suffice.
"That was tough," she said. "That was like high school all over again. Is it going anywhere? Am I going to transfer?"
New home close to home
In a year, Smith transferred. Elon became a fresh start right next to home, a place distant enough from high school but close enough to still get her father's steak.
Smith had every intention of being a walk-on for the women's basketball team. But when she tried out for the softball team she found new faces that became new friends, and Smith found her skills were better than she thought.
"She had a nice swing," Elon softball coach Patti Raduenz said, "soft hands on defense, got rid of the ball quick, strong arm and had a good knowledge of the game."
Finding 'the middle'
With the clouds gone and the count not in her favor, Smith stepped out of the box. She took a second to gather herself, letting the sun warm her and then stepped back in.
Smith let one pitch go outside for a ball, then another low in the dirt. She watched a third ball miss the outside corner of the plate by inches, just like a walk-on turned senior leader should.
And then her mind went clear. Her foot lifted a few inches, her back leg pivoted as her arms swung the bat true and strong the same way she has swung a thousand times. The high fastball traveled all the way to the left-field fence and Smith cruised into second base with a double.
"It's just about being patient and aggressive," Smith said, "but you have to find the middle."
Beginning of the end
Smith is approaching the end of her career. There was patience needed to get through that year at Alamance Community College. Assertion was necessary to go from a walk-on shortstop to the anchor of arguably the best infield in the Southern Conference.
So Smith finds herself right in the middle of the end.
"I've met some great girls that I'll remember for the rest of my life," Smith said. "It's been a learning experience. It taught me to grow up. I learned about responsibility. It's sad to think it's all over."
Brian Paglia / Times-News correspondent
April 19, 2007 3:00 AM
ELON - These clouds are bothering Elon University's Laurin Smith. She could tolerate a dreary afternoon game with a gentle breeze and a thick, darkening group of clouds passing above East Field.
She could tolerate the backdrop of freight trains that roar by in the middle of innings just a deep home run away from home plate.
None of that matters as long as Elon is winning and Smith's swing is pure. But Elon's softball team is down 1-0 to Western Carolina, one of the lower-echelon teams in the Southern Conference. And Smith hasn't had a hit in four games.
"I get in a slump and it's in my head," said the senior first baseman, a graduate of Graham High School. "When it comes, I know it. It's wondering if I should swing at this ball. I start thinking way too much instead of just hitting like I used to."
That's when Smith's mind feels heavy and burdened and sometimes as gloomy as those ominous clouds. But they soon pass, drifting away with the breeze, and Smith comes to the plate in the sixth inning.
She takes reckless swings at the first two pitches and misses. That's the approach she had in high school, when she was a standout shortstop for the Red Devils and played on the girls' basketball team.
"In high school, I was a first-pitch swinger," Smith said. "If it hit the dirt, I didn't care. I swung at it. I just couldn't stop myself because I was so anxious."
In the winter, she directed the Red Devils at the point guard position. When spring came, she pulled out her cleats to play infield. A myriad of Division II and III colleges came calling, and Smith was set on going to Methodist in Fayetteville to play both sports.
But two days before Methodist expected her to move in, Smith sat with her father late into the night, the thought of her future weighing heavy on her mind.
"That's not what I want to do," Smith told her dad.
"Well, make up your mind," he said, "and you need to do it fast."
Smith went to Alamance Community College for a year. She carpooled with the same friends from high school. Not the original plan, but it would have to suffice.
"That was tough," she said. "That was like high school all over again. Is it going anywhere? Am I going to transfer?"
New home close to home
In a year, Smith transferred. Elon became a fresh start right next to home, a place distant enough from high school but close enough to still get her father's steak.
Smith had every intention of being a walk-on for the women's basketball team. But when she tried out for the softball team she found new faces that became new friends, and Smith found her skills were better than she thought.
"She had a nice swing," Elon softball coach Patti Raduenz said, "soft hands on defense, got rid of the ball quick, strong arm and had a good knowledge of the game."
Finding 'the middle'
With the clouds gone and the count not in her favor, Smith stepped out of the box. She took a second to gather herself, letting the sun warm her and then stepped back in.
Smith let one pitch go outside for a ball, then another low in the dirt. She watched a third ball miss the outside corner of the plate by inches, just like a walk-on turned senior leader should.
And then her mind went clear. Her foot lifted a few inches, her back leg pivoted as her arms swung the bat true and strong the same way she has swung a thousand times. The high fastball traveled all the way to the left-field fence and Smith cruised into second base with a double.
"It's just about being patient and aggressive," Smith said, "but you have to find the middle."
Beginning of the end
Smith is approaching the end of her career. There was patience needed to get through that year at Alamance Community College. Assertion was necessary to go from a walk-on shortstop to the anchor of arguably the best infield in the Southern Conference.
So Smith finds herself right in the middle of the end.
"I've met some great girls that I'll remember for the rest of my life," Smith said. "It's been a learning experience. It taught me to grow up. I learned about responsibility. It's sad to think it's all over."
