Cougars depend on Gaines

• The third baseman has eased into her role as lead-off hitter.

“It’s funny now that I look back on it,” Gaines said.

Not discouraged by the ordeal, she continued to play through recreation league teams, middle school and at Hannibal High School.

Now Gaines is wrapping up an illustrious career at Columbia College, one that has taken her to postseason play in each of her four years, earned her All-conference honors the past three years, and seen her batting average improve every season.

As the Cougar leadoff hitter, Gaines is looked upon to get the offense flowing. Despite her small stature, Gaines has been known to hit the ball with surprising velocity, although not always in the right place.

“She’s always been able to hit the ball hard, but she’d tend to hit it right at the players,” Cougar outfielder Sheri Zeiger said.

Struggling earlier this season to find the gaps in the infield and open spots in the outfield, Gaines spent hours practicing her form. All that hard work paid off and Gaines now leads her team with a .365 batting average. She also finished one triple shy of equalling the Cougar record of 11, set last year by Jen Kamp.

“She didn’t get down after the slow start,” coach Wendy Spratt said. “Once she was able to handle the pressure of batting leadoff, she got over her slump. Now she excels under pressure.”

Defensively Gaines is a stalwart in the infield and has been the team’s starting third baseman for the past two seasons. She has improved dramatically on defense, since playing the role of designated hitter her freshman year and sharing time with Dana Patrick at third her sophomore year.

“She’s a huge asset on third base,” said senior first baseman Judy Lochmann. “I remember when she used to throw the ball in the dirt and I would have to go after it. But now she’s as accurate as they come.”

Off the field Gaines lives a tranquil existence: studying, relaxing in her suite, hanging out with friends - many of them being her teammates.

“She’s a true friend on and off the field,” said Lochmann, one of Gaines’ suitemates. “Whenever I’m at my computer, she always checks up on me every 25 minutes. Even if everything is OK, she still checks up to me. A very caring person.”

In the classroom, Gaines has received special recognition. She recently was awarded her third straight academic All-American Midwest Conference honor this year, and is pursuing a career in athletic training, one of Columbia College’s most time consuming fields.

“She has a strong internal drive to work,” said Cougar athletic trainer Jon Barfknecht, Gaines’ instructor for both basic and advanced prevention of athletic injuries. “It takes a lot of dedication to play sports at the collegiate level and pursue this as a profession.”

Currently Gaines needs has completed 947 of the required 1,500 hours of clinical work to be able to take the athletic training certification test. Last semester Gaines served as an athletic training assistant at numerous sporting events, including 6 a.m. men’s basketball practices, afternoon men’s soccer games, and late evening women’s volleyball matches. Some days would last from dawn until midnight, but none of this got her down.

“I knew what I was getting into when I picked this major,” Gaines said. “I just had to stick with it and so far everything has gone well.”

Gaines plans to stay on campus after graduation during the summer and fall semesters to complete her clinical hours.

Gaines is one of the team’s leaders, even though she is one of more reserved players on the squad.

“She’s quiet but deadly,” Spratt said. “She seems like an incredibly shy person, but she surprises some people with the way she handles herself on the field.”

While waiting to take bat in the dugout she takes part in the team’s numerous rally chants. Some of the team’s most popular ones are:

“Oh my, too high. Get that bird a helmet,” when an opposing pitcher throws high.

“Foul it off big dog. Woof. Woof,” when a teammate is struggling with the pitching count.

And “Hit, hit, hit it,” when a batter is in need of some encouragement.

“She’s not likely to start chants, but she’ll always join in,” said Zeiger, who played with Gaines at Hannibal and has known her since seventh grade.

Together they serve as the team’s No. 1 and No. 2 hitters, with Gaines letting teammates know what to look for when facing the opponent’s pitcher. The bond between the two is especially strong after playing softball together for almost a dozen years.

“When one of us is down, the other tries to pick the other one up,” Gaines said. “Our bats work well together.”

The same type of bond is shared between Lochmann and center fielder Tara Adams, teammates in Columbia College and at St. Louis’ Marquette High.

“It’s rare to have the opportunity to have a teammate for this long,” Zeiger said. “I knew it would be a positive if we both went to Columbia.”

The two are part of the eight-senior core that shares a common goal, to make one more push to reach the NAIA National Tournament championship, with the AMC Tournament set to start Friday.

Given the No. 11 NAIA Cougars’ lackluster performance in recent postseason play - finishing no better than 13th in the national tourney since 1993 even though they won four conference titles during that span - it will be a strong challenge to come out on top again this year.

“It’s my senior year,” Gaines said. “It was a lot of hard work to get where we are right now. It’s been a lot of fun, but we have to work extra hard if we want to do well.”

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