Newsfeed
Printer-Friendly ModeJunior uses power to help pace Lady Cards
April 25, 2005 —
"Any team can beat any other team on any given day," says junior first baseman Tabitha Greenwood. This philosophy, mixed with a little hard work and stirred with determination, is the key for Saginaw Valley State University's softball team.
Thus far Greenwood has been having a terrific season, batting .268 with 22 hits, 12 RBI, and a team-leading four home runs, two short of her team-leading six from last season.
"There are many things that have contributed to my stats this season," Greenwood says. "I have worked very hard to be where I am at today. The hard work that I have put in over the years has helped an immense amount."
Head coach Sabrina Lane focused on Greenwood's stats from last season, when she had a slugging percentage of .511 and drove in 21 runs, as a deciding factor in putting her in the clean-up spot in the lineup.
This past off-season, the softball team put in a lot of hard work for the current season. For five days a week they not only did conditioning exercises, but also lifting, hitting, and fielding drills. This work was done so the young Cardinals could focus on a winning season with the possibility of a championship run.
"I am hoping to win some games that we are not picked to win," Greenwood says. "We have put a lot of hard work into our on and off-season. I feel we have a shot at the GLAIC championship. If we put our hitting and our fielding together, we can beat any team."
Leadership is an aspect that is needed for a team as young as SVSU. With only three seniors and five juniors on a team that consists of 18 players, any type of direction is well taken. Greenwood sees herself as a player taking on these various roles.
"As a junior, I am finding myself in many different roles on the team," she says. "I guess the main one is just leading by example. When it's game time, I put everything I have out there on that field."
"She has great leadership qualities and the team looks to her for that," Lane says.
Greenwood hopes that her current personal goals will benefit her future, since coaching is a career opportunity she is considering.
"I personally want to gain more experience and more knowledge about the game of softball so one day I can go and share it all with the team I am coaching," she says.
To make any team better, players must obtain certain qualities that help the team in some way, shape, or form. Greenwood possesses a laid-back attitude and doesn't let things get to her or affect the way she plays on or off the field.
"I am just an easy-going person," she says. "I do the things I have to, to get by. I'm not one to cause drama or dwell on mistakes."
In the end, it's the team's will that must lead the Lady Cards to victory.
"Hopefully all the hard work pays off in the end," she says. "Hopefully the end brings home a championship trophy."