It isn’t uncommon to see a batter hit a hot streak during his or her season in baseball or softball. But to do it during your freshman year, now that’s a feat.
Freshman shortstop Renada Davis found the sweet spot on the bat and went on a tear in the latter part of her debut season.
Davis and the rest of the Wolfpack pulled out a four game winning streak, defeating East Carolina, Boston College and Campbell from April 4 to April 11. During the first four games of this period, Davis was batting at .700 to lead the Pack.
During this run, after the Pack was struggling for much of the season, Davis decided to let the game come to her and let her instincts take over.
“I just quit thinking so much when I went up to bat and decided to go out there swinging, and it worked,” Davis said.
For the season, she is also holding the number one spot on the team in batting average at .355, which is also third in the conference. She is also the team leader in hits and runs scored. Her .453 slugging percentage also holds a place in the top-10 of the ACC. Davis has also blown four home runs out of Dail Softball Stadium on the year, which is tied for second on the team.
In the Pack’s last series against Tobacco Road rival Carolina, she went 3-8 from the plate.
When the time came to transition her game from high school to the collegiate level, according to Davis, she slowed down the fast-paced game mentally to focus on the game at the plate.
“It’s just a lot quicker,” Davis said. “Everything’s a lot quicker. The pitching’s a lot faster so you have to learn how to slow the game down.”
Overall, Davis is satisfied with her performance during her freshman year, and posting these numbers came as no surprise to her.
“I feel really good about it,” Davis said. “It didn’t surprise me, but I came in kind of nervous and it finally clicked.”
She also credits her success at the college level to constant practicing and feedback from the coaching staff.
“Practicing non-stop, hitting off the tee, working with coaches to see what I’m doing wrong, and making adjustments continuously until I get there,” Davis said.
With all of this success early in her collegiate career, Davis is still assigned the task of carrying the team’s ball bucket. She is still a freshman, after all.
