The Saint Louis University softball team includes seven freshmen and six sophomores on a roster of 20 players. Among the seven upperclassmen, only two, Rachel Heet and Katie Johns, are seniors.
As the only seniors, Heet and Johns are very important to the team, both for their leadership roles and their on-field performances.
“It obviously puts you in a leadership role. You’ve been playing the longest so you try to show everyone what it means to play at this level,” Johns said.
Despite their importance and the pressure that comes with it, Heet and Johns are enjoying themselves, and are confident they can help make their senior season one to remember.
“I’m trying to have fun with it and have everyone else have fun with it,” Heet said. “I’m trying to keep everyone confident and relaxed.”
The seniors’ teammates agree that Heet and Johns are integral parts of the team.
“[Heet] is the backbone and keeps us consistent and constant. She’s always positive,” sophomore Caitlin Trevillyan said. “[Johns] is the more emotional one and she’s always willing to do her part.”
While leadership attributes and other intangibles are important, on-field performances are also key to the softball team’s success, and Heet and Johns have proven they can contribute in this area as well. Heet led the team in batting average and RBIs last season. Johns leads the team in batting average this season and was named the Atlantic-10 Player of the Week after her stellar performance in last weekend’s tournament.
While the Billikens took a step forward with two wins in last weekend’s tournament, Johns thinks the team “took a step back” in yesterday’s games against Missouri. The Billikens played a doubleheader, losing the first game 12-0 and the second game 7-2.
Even though the Billikens suffered the two losses, they feel this is just another step on the road to improvement.
“We played a lot better in the second game than the first game,” junior Rachel O’Connell said.
The Billikens travel to Norman, Okla., tomorrow for the Sooner Legends Invitational, where they will face Creighton and Oklahoma.
