Although freshman Abby Snyder was selected as a captain, she is not the only freshman who is standing out on the 2007 Virginia softball team. Freshman first baseman Kelly Haller currently leads the team in batting average, hits, doubles, homeruns, RBIs and slugging percentage and is second on the team in on-base percentage.
Haller attributes her stellar offensive play to simply practicing with her teammates and having them as a driving force.
"Playing and scrimmaging with my teammates has helped me adjust," Haller said. "My teammates pick the bar up for me and make me better. They all have a great work ethic and are trying to get better. The challenges my teammates offer help me against these highly ranked teams we play."
The high-level competition the Cavaliers have been playing against this year is something that Haller has enjoyed.
"I was really excited, especially when we started playing," Haller said. "It has definitely been more challenging. Michigan is ranked [and we are playing them this weekend]. We can compete with anyone in the country. It's just based on if we have a good day. I was excited when we played No. 2 Arizona and Oregon State who was No. 6."
Haller's great play is something that doesn't surprise Virginia coach Karen Johns.
"We knew Kelly was going to be able to put up numbers," Johns said. "Her fundamentals are great and she has a textbook swing. She'll have her moments but we think she'll put up the numbers this year."
Senior second baseman Elea Crockett, who bats in front of Haller in the lineup, is confident that if she gets on, Haller will knock her home.
"[Haller] came in with lots of confidence," Crockett said. "She hits extremely well. She brings a lot for us as far as being a power hitter. She hits our base runners in, which is something we've been needing for a few years. I feel like every time I get on she's going to hit me home."
Haller did not have a chance to practice on first base this year when she came in the fall, but she has adjusted well to that role. So far, Haller has committed only one error through 16 games, well enough for a .992 fielding percentage.
"She's performing at the level we expected her to be at," Johns said.
Haller's main adjustment has been learning to play with the faster and larger athletes at the collegiate level.
"The speed of the game is relatively the same but the teams have faster and stronger players," Haller said. "Someone can drop one down the line and make it to first and you've got to figure out where runners are going to be on certain hits. It's a learning curve, but you get used to it and it becomes second nature."
The Cavaliers hope that success will follow Haller. She won the Amateur Softball Association 18 and Under Gold Championship with her Virginia Shamrocks team in 2005. The league features premier up-and-coming college players.
"It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Haller said. "We were the first East Coast team to make it to finals and to win."
For now, the freshman standout hopes to continue her solid play for Virginia. "Hopefully my bat will still keep doing well," Haller said.
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