College Softball: The anatomy of redemption

Texas State head coach Ricci Woodard had no other option in her team's game against McNeese State. Woodard didn't want to pull Leah Boatright, a senior, from the game, but needed to make a change.

Boatright was hurting the team — there was no other way around it. In her previous 25 at-bats, Boatright held a .200 batting average and struck out more times (six) than she collected hits (five).

And Boatright knew she wasn't putting her team in the best position to win.

"I wasn’t surprised (that I got benched) because I had been struggling and not having quality at-bats," Boatright said.

If Boatright were to get back into the lineup, she'd need to make some changes.

Teams were pitching Boatright outside and she wasn't adjusting well enough. When Boatright tried to inch closer to the plate, opponents sawed her off.

So with some extra work with Woodard in the cages, Boatright regained confidence in herself and her swing. When Boatright requested to be put back in the lineup, Woodard obliged, but wanted to see progress from the senior right fielder.

Woodard also wanted to let Boatright knew how important she was to the club.

"I told her that if we’re going to win the Southland Conference, we’re going to need to have Leah Boatright’s bat in the lineup," Woodard said. "I took her out of the lineup against McNeese and it really caught her attention."

Boatright answered the call and has been setting the world on fire in her last four games (6-for-10, three home runs and 13 runs batted in).

She belted two home runs Wednesday night against No. 15 Texas, including the game winner, a three-run shot in the seventh inning.

Boatright now has 20 career home runs, which moved her into fourth place in the record books. If Boatright sends four more balls over the fence in 2010, she'll sit in second, five home runs behind Katie Ann Trahan (29).

It wasn't the first time Woodard pulled Boatright from the lineup to get her attention.

"As a sophomore, I did the same thing to her and she came in to see me and she came back out and lit it back up," Woodard said. "It was a battle for her, but I think it was more of a challenge to get her going again."