The RoundHouse | 11/17/2020 2:21:00 PM

 
Lauren Mills, when not hitting home runs, expresses herself with knitting. And drawing. And unflinching movie reviews.
 
Mills – known as "LoLo" around Wilkins Stadium - is Wichita State softball's utility player of creativity, opinion and power-hitting potential.
 
"You talk to LoLo and every single day, she's a kid that's 'Coach B, I've got a question for you,'" coach Kristi Bredbenner said. "You never know what that question is going to be. It could be about comic books. It could be about class. It could be about softball. She is quirky, very artistic, very passionate."
 
Mills, a sophomore from Topeka majoring in graphic design, found her place in the locker room as someone who loves to talk about how much her teammates help her, loves to use her artistic gifts and loves to discuss comic books and movies. 
 
"If someone asks me to knit something, I knit it," she said. "I knit, I crochet, I needle-point."
 
She knitted black and yellow scarves, hats and headbands for the children of the coaching staff – stuffed animals and a ghost for Halloween, too. She took anatomy classes to learn how to draw the human body. Pencil and ink are her preferred tools for drawing. Her favorite class at Topeka Seaman High School was ceramics. 

She knows how to weld and considered going to technical school.
 
"I've loved drawing since I was a little kid," she said. "I chose graphic design because I felt my work in one gallery was not enough. I'd rather have a billboard with a piece I can be proud of. Or a banner. I'm pretty sure the person who made the Apple logo . . . is very proud of themselves and it's everywhere. That's a good feeling to have."
 
"The Shining," "Alien" and "The Dark Knight" are among her favorite movies. 
 
"She definitely will have strong opinions about a lot of movies," said teammate Neleigh Herring.
 
Look at "Captain Marvel" for evidence. Mills considers "Captain Marvel" an average offering from the Marvel Universe and can break down the Marvel formula for making movies. 
 
"I voice my opinions quite often," she said. "You have an introduction. Then you have some roadblocks, then it goes to an overpowering moment and then it goes to a win. It's just standard comic book stuff. I expected more from the trailer."
 
Herring shares a love of Marvel movies with Mills. Mills, she said, is a tougher critic and knows more about super-hero origin stories and backgrounds because she reads comic books. 
 
"A lot of people like movies, but not a lot of people watch a ton of movies like we do," Herring said. "If I go to the movies, I get a box of popcorn and don't really care what I'm seeing. I just like going."
 
In the abbreviated 2020 season, Mills started 12 of 27 games and hit two home runs with a .286 batting average. She started 25 games as a freshman in 2019 and hit .333 with three home runs. One of those home runs gave the Shockers a 4-3 win over No. 25 South Florida in eight innings.
 
Mills continued to progress during fall workouts that ended in October. Bredbenner watched her put in extra work in the batting cage and on conditioning. 
 
"Lolo's hit the ball really well," Bredbenner said. "I think she's got confidence in herself. She's got a great eye. But I think she's a little picky, and I think she's starting to expand that strike zone a little bit. That's made her a better hitter over the last year."
 
Mills also made changes in her swing help her with pitch recognition and timing. The result is a more patient hitter who can forget a bad at-bat more quickly and focus on the next opportunity.
 
"I've struggled with timing a lot through the years, but I've gotten tremendously better," she said. "I've got my mind straight. Mental strength in hitting is very, very important, and most people forget that."
 
Bredbenner also values Mills for her contributions to the team environment.
 
"She would do anything she can possibly can for her teammates," Bredbenner said. "She is the first person to cheer and get that energy level up when things are getting quiet. If she doesn't play every single game, it bothers underneath. But she never shows it on the outside. She's there for the team." 
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.