Hi, I'm Oscar the same thing you want to start I got two sets of questions. First of all, I'm gonna choose myself I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm Dylan Heinrich Nice to meet you the man eater paper here on campus and so basically what I'm doing is I'm doing a feature on you and Claire and kind of your role is pinch runners and like what's kind of been unique about your story and your journeys here? I've got two sets of questions here for like you as a personal life and more your softball journey. Any questions for me before we get started? Oh, thanks. So you care where we start? Nope. Perfect. I love giving people the option. Most people don't care. So let's be rock and roll with ever so obviously you're from not exactly around here but a lot closer than Claire Missouri native played it for example, what does it mean to kind of be here and represent your home university in a sense it's
really special. Honestly, I've grown up my whole life just watching the zoo softball because obviously I've played so far in life. And this was like the big school near us. So I just grew up a fan always my step grandma actually pitched here. So like having that in the family was just neat. I
mean, yeah, you mentioned it. Heidi obviously pitched here. There were just a bunch of your relatives who have played college athletics. What does it mean to you to kind of carry on that family tradition? In a sense it's it's
really nice because it's I just feel like they're just so proud of me and that's really all I want to do is just make my family proud. They're proud of me no matter what, but just knowing like, I can I've stuck with this my whole life and I can just keep going and keep growing in the like field that they want me to thrive and it's just really special especially at the place that most of them are went to really
cool. Yeah, I touched a little bit on Claire's high school life you read fairly well accomplished high school life as well including earning a seal of by literacy, which is I think, do you think that that's paid off for you you use it often enough for?
I think it's good to have but I really honestly haven't used it that much. I'm a little rusty. I would not be able to speak to you in Spanish right now. But yeah,
I'm still looking at half. I'm still looking for a Spanish tutor. So the offer is on the table.
I got
so Alright, we're gonna move. Last question I got I love asked this Claire. The number four was that the number that you've always rocked or was it just a sort of availability thing? What does it mean? To you?
Yeah, so I've actually been to my whole life ever since like little peewee soccer. My dad chose to for me, because I'm pretty sure it was because he just loved Derek Jeter and I literally stuck with I played, like, club volleyball. All the way up until I had to decide between volleyball and softball because they were in the same season in high school. So I was two there. I was two my whole softball life and then Madison Walker. She wanted number two and she committed here a week before I did so she got it, which is fine. I mean, it's a new chapter in my life, so it didn't really hurt me.
Yeah, have you ever tried to like do like a fighting battle like a home run derby for the number two at all?
I don't think me and Madison Home Run Derby would go. She Yeah, she's a good low hitter. Yeah,
maybe maybe you have to pick your battle there. Yeah, what inspired the number four then was it just first one available closest to to earnestly I'm
more of like a single digit type of player. I'm not really sure why but that was one of the only ones available. I liked that it's even. So there's nothing too special behind it before.
What was there like a particular time where you really knew that softball was the one for you.
So actually, I'm pretty sure it was 2017 we it was still when I was playing competitive volleyball and softball, but my my team my softball team played in the tournament that was in Oklahoma City, the same weekend of the worlds or the same week, I guess, the World Series, and 2017 We went there and watched like almost all the games because I'm pretty sure that tournament comes with like a package of like, you can go to X mini games. So my parents always told me they have this like vivid memory of me turning around and being like, I want to be here one day. So like they have a picture of me like looking out at the field and everything. And I'm sure when we make it to the World Series, they'll break it out.
There you go. I may or may not coach on that. Well, we'll see how the rest of the season goes. So now obviously you played softball now you're here first year haven't been getting a huge amount of starts. But you've had a very clear role been very useful to the team. Did la ever sit you down and kind of have that conversation of like, here's what your role is going to be this first year and how do you kind of take that? Yeah,
I mean, everyone kind of had their like role conversation. And like Claire said, I was very open to doing whatever it was to help the team win. I know my strength is my speed. And so if coach believes in me on the base pads, I obviously like can believe in myself so I just trust it out. There. And I know she'll put me in there in the right situations. So I know that that's like the best way that we can win. Would
you think that? Did your speed just like was it there from the beginning or is it something that you've really worked hard to develop? Or has it been a little bit of both laying it
kind of has just been there I used to be a righty hitter actually. And one of my coaches when I was in sixth or seventh grade, he's like, You're too fast to be right handed or you need to switch around. And then he dumped me in the outfield. He's like you're too fast to be on the infield also. So it's kind of has always been there but I've I've been going to premier pitching performance like since middle school to work on like lifting and speed and agility type stuff. So that's helped out to a
lot more of those like intangibles, that sort of thing. What's kind of the advantage of being a lefty hitter, especially with your speed?
I mean, the obvious is that it's like a step ish closer to the box or the first space. Wow, okay.
Oh, cleaning up. I
gotcha. Yeah. And they kind of pitch you differently as lefties. Not even just a slapper but lefties, so that's all I really got for that.
Oh, that's perfect. I mean, what was that transition? Like? Was it pretty smooth because you were still developing or did it did it take a while?
It was not smooth at all. It was actually pretty terrible. It was a lot of trust the process for like first let's learn how to bunt over here. And then we'll try to get you a slap. That was very not pretty because like you're you're not dominant over there. You've been swinging like this your whole life. And yes, that was rough. And then once I finally started figuring out slapping, then I tried to swing a little bit but I kind of just slapped my whole life. I never really swing. So I'm still trying to sharpen that up even today my swinging so just trying to make myself that that three tool player.
It's definitely tough learning with people who throw those hard. It's like Lauren and Cece, what's the kind of bend like trying to adjust to this college level pitching? Obviously like
travel ball, you kind of faced similar pitching, but that's also high schoolers. That will be playing at bar five not power five players. high school ball is really where I would swing just to get like my reps in and high school ball is a completely different game compared to this. So that's been definitely an adjustment
but it's getting there.
I know I talked about it with Claire gotta get a little bit of a smaller frame compared to most Do you think that's been helpful especially like narrowing down your strike zone being able to more pick your pitches? Definitely.
I'm not like I'm not as small as glare, but I'm still smaller than a lot of
like hitters so that does help. Most people
go back a little bit to the running aspect, but a pinch runner been very successful in that aspect. What are you really looking for when you're out there on that base path and thinking okay, what can I do to make a move to make an impact?
I think really making sure your jump is as powerful as it would be if you're stealing or if you're not, because if it's not as powerful. You're you have no shot at getting to the next space, especially with the new reviewing rules of leaving early. That's so unfortunate, but I think also making sure like learning how to pick change ups out of the hand or even in the wind up or just like reading a ball down. Because if it's down it's obviously going to take them longer they
get the throw out.
I know Coach has talked about your pitchers trying to pick change ups in the dugout. Have you been able to hear them at all and ever been able to like take advantage?
A few times. It's not very often that like I'm on the base, they're throwing a changeup, they're calling it i Here we go. But if I do it's very helpful. So and just like also having those conversations with the pitchers like seeing what they're seeing. So like if I am on the basis, I can see it at the same time of them as them rather than like having
to listen for them. Awesome.
I mean, I talked about this with Claire, you got to just be able to stay ready at every moment because you're just going to be thrown into the game, whatever. What do you do personally to just like stay as ready as possible for when your name is called upon?
I think just like the mental reps like any pitch, you'd be like, Oh, that ball is going down. I would go like or even fly balls would I tag on this what I get a read just try to figure that out. Yeah, we do. We do also run in between things like Clara's saying. It helps if you're like focusing on making sure you're getting like your quads actually loose and not just running to run. That is a lot more beneficial
than you would think.
Oh yeah 100% Instead of just like hanging out there on the bench for a while. So now first year almost done. Still got a ways to go with softball but schools almost done if you could encapsulate this first year at Mizzou with Mizzou softball what's kind of been like, I
think it's been incredible. I think the upperclassmen even in the fall did a really good job of taking all of us under their wing and making sure we're not just like the underclassmen like they're actually becoming friends with us and like making memories and including us on everything. I think team chemistry is one of the most important ways to build a successful program. And I think I wasn't here last year, but I'm I know that that's the difference between last year's team and this year's team is the chemistry and that's just a reflection of like our seniors and upperclassmen. Just doing a good job of taking us under their wing, not
to single anybody out but do you remember one person in particular who really took you under their wing?
I grew up with Julio Crenshaw so like she's I've she's always been like such a big role model for me. So obviously being here she again kept me under her wing. But I think like Shan Shan T's she is just such a good human and good soul. She's exactly who you want to be playing with. Awesome.
And then I wrapped up with Claire with the same question. What's your favorite memory with Claire would be those late night snack runs or is it is it something else that I think Jen mentioned? We
have like these moments. us and our other roommates are Natalie and Marissa. We have these moments where we just everything is funny. And it's always like later at night and it's those are the best moments because like you just keep laughing It's there's one you build Absalon, like it's those are my favorite memories.
I love laughing.
Do you remember one night in particular where everything was just the best it could be? Or is it just something that comes and goes?
It happens very often, like, at least at least once a week. It literally happened last night. We were up just cracking up about literally nothing was so funny.
Awesome. Is there anything else anything I didn't touch on that your story or anything wouldn't be complete without?
I don't think so. I had some really good coaches growing up that really helped to build me I was like a person and a player. Matt Alvarado. He like that. That guy was such a good like teacher. And he really cared obviously about our product on the field but like deep down as a person, and I think that's why I love Coach like our coaching staff so much is because they're so similar to that. Obviously they want us to be the best we're at an SEC school but like they care about you as a person
when it matters. What do you think about what Matt did for you? Do you remember one particular moment or piece of advice that he gave you that really stuck with you all these years later?
Not really he's just been like a good friend. Like that's, that's what you kind of look for. So yeah, not really perfect.
