The RoundHouse | 4/23/2022 4:51:00 PM

 
Lauren Mills met Jessica Garcia at age 12 on the Peppers softball team and immediately liked her attitude. Mills pitched and Garcia caught.
 
"Spitfire," Mills said. "She was her own person, was never afraid to be herself. She was energy."
 
Mills also liked that Garcia hit, and that is the part of her game that is bursting through over the three weeks at Wichita State.
 
"Once you're on a roll, you're on a roll," Mills said. "This is the Jess I've been waiting for."
 
The Shockers defeated Memphis 14-3 in five innings, their seventh straight win. Wichita State (27-13, 9-2 American Athletic Conference) run-ruled the Tigers (16-31, 2-12) for a second straight day at Wilkins Stadium. Add in Wednesday's 9-1 win over Kansas and the Shockers own three straight early endings and outscored opponents 33-5.
 
The teams play the series finale at noon Sunday at Wilkins Stadium.
 
Mills homered twice. Addison Barnard doubled and hit her 24^th home run of the year to drive in four runs. Her 62 RBI set a single season record, one she set last season at 61. Lainee Brown hit her second home run in the past four games.
 
 

Garcia, a sophomore third baseman from Mill Valley High School, hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning. She has homered in three straight games and four of the past six, raising her average to .344 with five homers total. She is hitting .366 over the past 12 games.
 
"She's giving us a reason to put her in the lineup," Wichita State coach Kristi Bredbenner said. "I think she had her a-ha moment about three, four weeks ago and really started to open her ears a little more and get more focused on her at-bats."
 
Garcia said her swing began to improve when she quit trying to hit home runs. She improved her batting practice habits and concentrated on hitting line drives.
 
"During BP, I'm more focused on really feeling my swing, swinging the bat 75-percent so I can really understand my entire body and how it works," she said. "When I focus on process, the outcome will take care of itself."
 
 

Garcia started hitting with more power when she stopped swinging for the fences.
 
"I wanted to be a big hitter on this team," she said. "I feel like I put a lot of pressure on myself to be this big hitter. I see (Barnard) hitting home runs and I'm like 'I want to do that, too.' But I was like 'Hey, Jess, your role is to go gap-to-gap, base hit, base hit. Get on base so people behind you can hit you in.'"
 
The work in batting practice and refining her swing is paying off, Mills said.  

"She's going to hit a lot more bombs," Mills said. "She's been working on her skills more. I'm just so proud of her."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.