Softball | 3/9/2023 6:53:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
The Shockers went through "Adjustment Week" last week on the softball field, which meant associate head coach Elizabeth Economon spent one-on-one time with struggling hitters.
 
The overall themes of "use your legs to generate power" and "wait on the ball to get a better swing" spring from "Trust what Coach E says."
 
"Anything she says," said catcher Lainee Brown. "It's worked out well."
 
The group that took part in sessions with Economon largely represents the bottom of the lineup, a group of hitters struggling through No. 23 Wichita State's first three weeks. While the top five Shocker hitters all entered last week hitting .333 or better, no one else was above .222.
 
Wichita State (16-3) brings an 11-game win streak into a big stretch of games at Wilkins Stadium. No. 12 Stanford visits today (Thursday, 3 p.m. ESPN+) with Nebraska and Missouri State this weekend in the Shocker Classic.
 
Brown, a redshirt sophomore from Choctaw, Okla., needed to add more power from her legs and get her timing down to improve at the plate. She added a leg kick, which provided a bit of delay and synced up her legs and upper body.
 
"She was constantly a little out in front, a little anxious," coach Kristi Bredbenner said. "We needed to get the bottom half of the lineup going a little bit. Leg kicks. Different stances. Different strides. Everybody had something they really worked on to try to get them to slow themselves down a little bit."
 
Brown popped up in her first at-bat on Saturday in an 8-0 win over Western Illinois, swinging just a bit too early. The leg kick did its job in her second at-bat and she hit a two-run home run. She went 6 for 12 in the four games at Wilkins Stadium in the Black & Yellow Challenge, doubling twice and extended her hitting streak to six games.
 
 

You hang it. We bang it.@laineebrown22 goes yard to DEAD CENTER.

We lead 7-0! pic.twitter.com/h9OxHSLHdm

— Wichita State Softball (@GoShockersSB) March 4, 2023

 
 
She raised her average from .222 to .292 entering Thursday's game.
 
That's why she listened when Economon suggested moving from a small step to a leg kick.
 
"It gives me a lot more power," Brown said. "Leg power. It took a little bit to get my timing down. When it came to games, it really worked out."
 
Brown's work with the pitching staff needs little adjusting. The Shockers, relying on a revamped staff, own a 1.85 earned run average with 12 complete games and six shutouts.
 
"We've been really working on hitting our spots, keeping it low," Brown said. "This is my fourth year and I try to help them calm down if they're getting worked up, being the older person."
 
Brown played catcher as a youngster and loves the leadership and the action.
 
"When I was little, I was really hyper and always moving around, so they put me behind the plate so I could be involved in every pitch," she said.
 
Bredbenner appreciates Brown's agility and hustle blocking balls in the dirt. Her skill with the glove makes borderline pitches look good to umpires.
 
"She's such a good receiver and works really hard," Bredbenner said. "Even on some of the ones we miss, she does great job of trying to frame it back in the zone."
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.