Sophomore Kallie Case is a true utility player. She plays wherever the softball team needs her.
In 2013, that meant the infield. So far this year, she’s been a staple in left field, playing in all 10 games and starting eight. She has big shoes to fill after three-time All-American Kayla Braud graduated.
“Kallie’s typical, similar to Braud. Throws right, hits left, very fast, gets good jumps on the ball,” Alabama coach Patrick Murphy said. “She made a diving catch out in Arizona – really good play … The best arm should be in right field, so the shorter throw is obviously left field to home plate, and she’s got a good enough arm to play left field. That would be our only question mark with it, but so far it’s been really good.”
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Last year, she played primarily at second base. She hit .241 in 29 at bats and stole six bases on eight attempts in 2013. She’s almost matched her at-bat mark and batting average in the first 10 games this season.
“It’s a lot different for me because last year I was just kind of – I guess I wasn’t really as much of a role player as I am this year, so this year it’s a lot different, but it’s a lot more calming because you’ve already got your freshman year. All the jitters are out,” Case said.
Case is majoring in elementary education, and she’s started practicing teaching on her teammates. This year, she’s something of a role model for the younger players.
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“She’s the epitome of someone you want,” freshman Peyton Grantham said. “Every day, it’s more about you than it is her. She puts everyone before herself. She’s a sophomore, but she’s one of our biggest leaders on the team. She might be having a bad day, but you’d never know it when you got here.”
No. 7 Alabama returns home this weekend after two away tournaments. In the last two games, the Crimson Tide was shut out twice by then-No. 24 Arizona.
“We just didn’t put the ball in play enough,” Murphy said. “We had two hits the last game and just need to put the ball in play consistently. And the defense was fine. Just got to throw more strikes, because we walked six people.”
The team is looking forward to playing at Rhoads Stadium again after the pair of losses in front of the Arizona crowd.
“We have the best fans in the nation for sure,” Case said. “It’s just a totally different atmosphere. We played in front of 3,000 of Arizona’s fans, and it’s just not the same without our home crowd here.”
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