Baker’s speed propels team

Legendary reporter Damon Runyon once said, “The race isn’t always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. But that’s the way to bet.”

And if you are inclined to gamble, Lady Bobcats leftfielder Aundrea Baker would be a safe bet.

The fleet-footed Baker not only leads the Lady Bobcats in steals, swiping 14 of 15 attempts, but also accounts for all but four of the team’s stolen bases.

“I try to be smart,” Baker said. “I try to take advantage of every little thing that I can. If a catcher drops the ball, I’m going to go to the next base. Basically, it’s about being aggressive, but being smart.”

Part of being smart is knowing when to be aggressive and when to play it safe, a difficult decision for Interim Head Coach Ginger Miller.

“I should’ve stole her more, but I hate to take the bat away from our hitters,” Miller said. “I’d hate to run us out of an inning.”

Miller appears to have found the right formula. The Lady Bobcats are 23-15 overall and 12-8 in the Peach Belt Conference.

Of course, you have to be quick to get the green light from the coach, but it takes more than just speed to get down to second safely.

“It’s the jump,” Baker said. “You can be the fastest person in the world and if you have a bad jump, you’re not going to make it. It’s all about timing.”

Baker’s speed does more for the team than moving runners to second base on a passed ball or to third base on a single. The threat of her speed keeps the defense on its heels.

“There are more things you can do when Aundrea’s on base,” Miller said. “When you get somebody like that on base, it makes the defense even more tense.”

But before she can distract the defense, she has to get to first base. It is one time Baker does not use her speed.

“I never want to think about running until I’ve made solid contact,” Baker said. “You’ll get better contact if you just focus on hitting.”

Even when she does not make good contact with the ball, Baker puts the pressure on the defense by just hitting the ball into play.

“You have to play a ball perfectly when she puts it into play,” Miller said. “If you bobble it just the least bit, if you have to move to either side, she’s safe. She’s got a greater chance of getting on than anybody.”

So far this season Baker has had great success hitting second for the Lady Bobcats. She is batting .333, has a .403 on base percentage, leads the team in hits (43), triples (3), and at-bats (129) and is second in runs scored with 26.

As far as the Lady Bobcats and Aundrea Barker are concerned, the race is to the swift.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 15 2005. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry