In her senior year of high school, Sam Scott’s coach didn’t let his players see their batting average.
In her senior year of college, it’s a little harder to ignore when it’s atop the PSAC rankings.
Scott’s average is up to .489 despite the Gannon University softball team being on a four-game losing streak. Gannon’s doubleheader with Mansfield, scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed due to inclement weather. No makeup date has been announced.
Having lost back-to-back doubleheaders to Edinboro and California universities of Pennsylvania, Gannon’s PSAC record fell to .500.
“I know after (Edinboro), a lot of us were angry about the way we played,” Scott said. “I know it’s not that bad though. When we make mistakes, it’s because we beat ourselves most of the time.”
No. 20 Gannon remains second in the PSAC Western Division with a 4-4 conference record as part of a 19-6 season mark.
California, which is first in the West, made certain the order stayed the same Sunday by coming from behind and scoring the winning runs in the final at-bat of 3-2 and 6-4 wins.
The 10th-ranked Vulcans broke a 2-2 tie when Stephani Ellis led off the inning by belting a walk-off homer off of Megan Dragon. The nightcap provided only more disappointment for the Knights, who surrendered a 4-1 lead when Cal tallied five off Jess Rectenwald in the sixth.
“Cal’s the No. 1 team in our division, we knew that going in,” coach Tom Jakubowski said. “The Edinboro losses were hard to take.”
The Knights will have another chance at a rival when they make the short trip to Mercyhurst University Thursday.
A common theme throughout their four-game slide, the Knights struggled hitting in clutch spots.
In each of its losses to Edinboro, Gannon left 12 runners on base and didn’t fare much better against Cal, Jakubowski said.
“When you don’t get hits in key spots, it’s hard to win games, and they know that,” he said. “It’s just a matter of us getting into spots where we can drive in the runners on base.”
Getting runners on base hasn’t been a problem from the lead-off spot, where Scott’s .539 on-base percentage ranks fourth in the PSAC. Her seven home runs and 24 RBIs are also tops among the Knights.
But Scott said her team doesn’t see success as an individual accomplishment.
“I think our success has to do with everyone playing together and whenever one person plays bad, we know the rest of the team is going to pick them up,” she said.
Often times, that’s meant Scott, who hit .230 in her freshman and sophomore seasons before hitting .304 last season.
“My freshman and sophomore year, it seemed like I was in a two-year slump,” Scott said. “I worked really hard, hit almost every day, and last year it started coming around.”
Since then, the flood gates have opened for Scott, Jaukowski said.
“She’s the classic example of a kid who had to learn how to play at this level and she really worked her butt off to the point where she’s blossomed this year,” he said.
With 12 regular-season games left, Scott is threatening Gannon’s single-season average record, which has stood since 1982 when Mary Kay Lynch hit .513 in 12 games. Sarah Kane set the record for full-time players with a .489 average in 1999.
The offensive tear Scott has enjoyed began when she noticed a minor adjustment in her swing.
“It was really just the smallest adjustment that I had to keep my hands in.”
Hands that Scott has plans for.
“I want a ring,” Scott said. “If you get a ring, it means you’ve won the PSAC, which also qualifies you for the NCAA tournament. It’s the ultimate goal.”
