SOFTBALL: Wagner owns sizzling batting average

By PEDRO VELAZCO
Tribune sportswriter

May 08, 2008 10:34 pm

— Kokomo softball player Elizabeth Wagner thought about her most recent walk. She didn’t remember the opponent or day, but the situation remained clear in her mind.
“Runners were on second and third,” she said.
You didn’t like getting walked?
“No,” Wagner said quickly.
The Wildkat junior is not interested in free passes. When she steps into the batter’s box, she has one thing on her mind — hitting her way on base.
“I think like a pitcher, and I’m aggressive,” Wagner said of her approach at the plate. “I don’t like to watch a lot of strikes.”
The approach has worked for her. Already one of Howard County’s most dangerous hitters heading into the season, Wagner has been a menace at the plate in 2008. She leads Howard County with a .605 average as of this week’s stats, and is among the county leaders in every category, from speed to power.
Kokomo coach Lisa Tate said Wagner is thriving in spite of opponents trying to be extra careful when the Kat No. 3 batter heads to the plate.
“She never gets a great pitch,” Tate said. “No batter that’s batting .600, and the pitchers know about her and the coaches know about her, they’re not going to get great pitches to hit. She makes do with what she’s got. She’s never going to take a walk unless they force her to. She’s very aggressive.”
Wagner’s offensive game is well rounded. Showing her power, she has nine doubles, two triples, two homers and 16 runs batted in through 13 games. But she can also slap for hits and speed down the line. She shares the county lead with four stolen bases and has scored 17 runs. Oh, and she’s walked three times.
Wagner is also one of Kokomo’s two primary pitchers along with Carly Painter. She said her pitching helps her as a batter because “I know what to expect, generally speaking.” That helps her get comfortable at the plate.
“It’s a head game,” Wagner said of hitting. “I feel confident when I go up there.”
Tate has seen Wagner take command in the batter’s box.
“She’ll come up to bat and she’s at the point where she can look at the infield and the outfield and decide what she needs to do,” Tate said. The coach said nobody is perfect executing at the plate, but “she knows where she needs to put the ball and can definitely make an attempt to put it there, whether it be an infield slap or a power slap, try to hit late or try to hit early. She really has total control up there most of the time.”
Wagner’s ability comes from year-round work. She plays with the Indy Dreams 18-under travel team and estimated she gets 70-80 club games a year. In addition, she worked out at the Parisi Speed School last fall and improved both her foot speed and her bat speed. And of course, she hits as often as she can.
“I hit all the time, it’s my favorite thing to do,” Wagner said. “My father [Robert] has a lot to do with it. I do hitting lessons once a week down in Indy, and then I hit with my dad during the week when we get a chance.”
In theory, Wagner was a known commodity coming into the season. She led the county with a .500 average in 2007, putting points on her average after Tate decided to have her hit lefty for the Kats. Previously, she’d hit only righty for Kokomo but had already made the switch to the left side for travel ball.
However, what wasn’t known at the start of this season was how much jolt she’d added to her at-bats. Wagner opened Tate’s eyes with flashes of power in her first practice against live pitching this season.
“I was a little taken back the first practice when I saw her putting them out,” Tate said. It was too much power to keep hitting Wagner leadoff, where she’d been in her freshman and sophomore seasons.
“Last year she was leadoff and she was hitting so well, we thought we’ve got to do something to move her down in the lineup,” Tate said. “So here I had this girl batting left side, had her slapping, had her leading off and had to put her in the third position because she was just killing the ball.”
Now, with Brittany Camp leading off, Jennifer Bailey in second, Wagner in third and Kate Toney hitting cleanup, the Kats have scored 118 runs in 17 games.
In addition, Wagner is valuable in the pitching circle and at shortstop. As a pitcher, she boasted a 0.46 ERA through the most recent stats and has a 6-1 record. Tate also said when she’s at shortstop, she’s a calming influence on the infield.
Wagner has been part of an uprising with the Kokomo softball squad. The team battled to the state semifinals in her freshman season, shaking off years of mediocrity. This year’s squad is 13-4 overall and 4-1 in the North Central Conference.
For Wagner, who watched older sisters Becky (class of 1999) and Rachel (2001) play for the Kats, it’s refreshing to be on a contender.
“We never used to think we could win conference or get out of sectionals, and then when we did, it’s something we really go for now because we think we can,” she said.

IHSAA softball sectional pairings:
Class 4A
At Harrison
May 19
6 p.m. — McCutcheon vs. Logansport
May 20
5:30 — Lafayette Jeff vs. Kokomo
7:30 — Harrison vs. Game 1 winner
May 22
7 p.m. — Championship
Class 3A
At Twin Lakes
May 19
5 p.m. — Twin Lakes vs. Benton Central
7 p.m. — Frankfort vs. Western
May 20
5 p.m. — Winner 1 vs. Winner 2
7 p.m. — W. Lafayette vs. NW
May 22
6 p.m. — Championship
At Norwell
May 19
5 p.m. — Peru vs. Elmhurst
May 20
5 p.m. — Bellmont vs. Norwell
May 21
5 p.m. — Winner 1 vs. Winner 2
May 22
5 p.m. — FW Wayne vs. Maconaquah
May 23
5 p.m. — Championship
Class 2A
At Clinton Central
May 19
5 p.m. — Delphi vs. Fountain Ct.
May 20
5 p.m. — Clinton Ct. vs. Carroll
May 21
5 p.m. — Seeger vs. Winner 1
May 22
5 p.m. — Championship
At Wabash
May 19
5 p.m. — Cass vs. Manchester
7 p.m. — Northfield vs. Southwood
May 20
5 p.m. — Winner 1 vs. Winner 2
7 p.m. — Wabash vs. North Miami
May 22
6:30 p.m. — Championship
At Eastern
May 19
6 p.m. — Eastern vs. Madison-Grant
May 20
5 p.m. — Sheridan vs. Taylor
7 p.m. — Guerin Catholic vs. Tipton
May 21
5 p.m. — Oak Hill vs. Game 1
7 p.m. — Winner 1 vs. Winner 2
May 22
6 p.m. — Championship
Class A
At Wes-Del
May 20
4:30 p.m. — Tri-Central vs. So. Wells
6:30 p.m. — Lib. Christian vs. Wes-Del
May 22
5 p.m. — Championship

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