The RoundHouse | 4/3/2023 11:25:00 AM
By Paul Suellentrop
Zoe Jones and
Addison Barnard are hitting partners who spend hours in the Wilkins Stadium batting cages watching each other hit, talking about hitting and thinking about hitting.
Put
Zoe Jones on the short list of Barnard hitting experts. When Jones says Barnard looks like Barnard again – and the numbers back it up – pay attention.
"She knows how to hit the ball really, really well," Jones said. "She had to find her groove. Now she has her groove, and I don't see her stopping any time soon."
No. 23 Wichita State defeated USF 3-2 on Sunday to sweep a series against the team picked third in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll. Barnard, a junior left fielder, homered in all three wins and went 5 for 8 with three walks to produce seven runs and four batted in.
Wichita State wraps up its homestand against No. 2 Oklahoma State (32-2) at 6 p.m. Tuesday at sold-out Wilkins Stadium.
Entering the weekend, Barnard was hitting .348 with seven home runs, which are great numbers for almost everyone. Barnard hit 22 and 33 home runs in her first two seasons, so she spent this season first six weeks searching for something closer to her previous standard.
"This season, there's been a lot of ups and downs for me, in and outside of softball," Barnard said. "I've been up and down and not really feeling like myself."
On Friday, Barnard decided to return to a previous technique at the plate by starting with the bat pulled around her head in a more pronounced method. That change, she said, gives her more speed and power with the bat.
"I looked at my swing and said, 'I'm going to go back to what I know,'" she said. "As soon as we started batting practice on Friday, something felt like it clicked. This weekend, I felt like myself."
Regardless of the look at the plate, coach
Kristi Bredbenner is happy to see Barnard confident.
"She's continuing to work through a lot of different things and make herself a better ballplayer every game," Bredbenner said. "You saw some really great at-bats this weekend."
The Jones-Barnard practice partnership is also working for Jones, a senior first baseman. She raised her average from .297 to .336 over the past seven games, highlighted by driving in five runs with a homer and a double against UCF. Against USF, she went 3 for 7 with three walks, one intentional, and a home run.
"We both think very similar," Jones said. "We're really serious about it. We care a lot about how successful the team is, how successful we are. I know she can help me with my swing, and I can help her with hers."
She credits a conversation with associate head coach
Elizabeth Economon during the UCF series in late March with helping to lift her mood.
"Ever since then, it's been 'I'm going to play my game and do what I do,'" Jones said. "Trusting myself. Trusting my preparation. I like to play loose and that's how I play my best. For a couple weeks there, I was playing a little bit tight, not like myself."
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
