The RoundHouse | 3/18/2023 9:57:00 AM
By Paul Suellentrop
No hype accompanied
Addison Barnard in the fall of 2020 when she arrived for softball practice at Wichita State. She hit 61 home runs in her career at a Class B high school in Nebraska and earned Super State honors as a senior, credentials that sound like a lot of college freshmen stepping up into the world of NCAA Division I athletics.
"I don't think there was a whole lot of talk," said Madison (Perrigan) Duncan, then a senior catcher and power-hitter supreme for the Shockers. "It was a good, solid, freshman class."
Less than four years later, Duncan is on the phone talking about how Barnard skipped any "hype" phase of extravagant attention on her way to the top of Wichita State's home run list. She went from freshman to real deal almost immediately that fall, always in the hard-working manner that characterizes her time as a Shocker.
Duncan quickly figured out Barnard possessed special hitting ability, perhaps helped by carrying feed buckets as a youngster on her farm, and fit the ethos of Shocker softball. Barnard, a junior left fielder from Beatrice, Neb., hit career home run No. 59 on Friday to move past Duncan – known as "Butters" during her time as a Shocker – on the program's career list.
Madison (Perrigan) Duncan
"I'm super-proud of Addie B," Duncan said. "She always worked extremely hard. Never skipped any reps. Very mature."
On Friday, the record-breaking homer played out like so many. Leadoff hitter
Sydney McKinney singled. Barnard homered to right-center field and the Shockers took a lead on their way to a 6-1 win over Northern Colorado.
"Syd got on right away, so I was just thinking 'See it down, see it in the zone,'" Barnard said. "I was really ready to time up the first pitch. Once it hit the barrel, I kind of knew."
It took Barnard 127 games, to break the record Duncan set with 58 from 2017-2021 in 245 games. Barnard hit a single-season record 22 as a freshman and topped that with 33, fourth most in NCAA history, last season. Her average of 0.63 home runs a game in 2023 set an NCAA mark.
This season, after missing four games with injury in early March, she is hitting .396 with four home runs in 23 games.
"Right away, when it happened, I got really excited," Barnard said. "This year has kind of been up and down with injury and being out. Having a really positive moment was really awesome."
Wichita State coach
Kristi Bredbenner did understand Barnard's potential – she called her "one of the most athletic student-athletes we have signed" in November 2019. Early in the fall of 2020, Barnard stood out. The Shockers, because of COVID-19, didn't play their usual scrimmages against other schools. It was Shockers vs. Shockers in the fall of 2020 and Barnard pounded the ball against an experienced group of pitchers.
"We scrimmaged a lot that fall," Duncan said. "She would just demolish the pitchers. She's hitting home runs off our own pitchers, so I began to think 'This kid, she can play with us.'"
Like so many Shockers, Barnard comes from a small town in the region – Beatrice is population 12,209 as of 2021. Duncan, from Mustang, Okla., sees those roots as an essential part of the Shocker success and Bredbenner's talent pipeline.
"Midwest kids are going to give her every inch she asks for," Duncan said. "Addie B was a silent killer by Coach B's recruiting moves. She likes to pluck ones from places no one else goes."
Barnard grew up working on the family farm and Duncan suspects her power at the plate starts with that life, with powerful arms created by carrying buckets of feed.
"She is pure muscle," Duncan said. "Raw strength."
On Friday night, Barnard sat on the black couch in Bredbenner's office after the win over Northern Colorado and a 5-2 loss to Minnesota. She remembered her modest expectations as a freshman. She came to Wichita State as an infielder and wasn't sure if she would play much with senior Kaylee Huecker ahead of her at second base.
"My whole life, I've never been really like a standout in any of my sports," she said. "I've worked hard to be very athletic and worked really hard to get better at everything. Once I got older, I knew I was gradually getting better at softball."
Bredbenner moved her to outfield to get that booming bat in the lineup. In Duncan's view, Barnard's work ethic and attitude took care of everything else. Barnard showed cattle for the family, and daily chores meant grinding corn and carrying buckets of feed.
"Even coming in freshman year, it took so much work just to even get on the field," Barnard said. "I do come from a small town. Nothing is handed to you at all. I always have had to work hard for an outcome."
For three seasons, those outcomes broke records and made history for the Shockers.
Wichita State career home runs
Addison Barnard (2021-present) |
59 |
Madison Perrigan (2017-2021) |
58 |
Laurie Derrico (2016-19) |
39 |
Cacy Williams (2014-16) |
39 |
Neleigh Herring (2018-22) |
36 |
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State Athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.