The RoundHouse | 9/15/2023 9:51:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Quiet time is no longer allowed for Wichita State shortstop Sami Hood, who as a sophomore must use her voice to encourage, organize and teach.
 
"I need to figure out how to make that my new comfort zone," she said. "Coach (Kristi Bredbenner) keeps me on my toes, for sure. If I'm not talking at practice, she will look at me and be like 'Hey, you're not talking.'"
 
The Shockers started fall practices earlier this month and open their scrimmage schedule against McLennan (Texas) Community College at noon Saturday at Wilkins Stadium.
 
This fall's theme is one of new roles and a new generation after the departure of All-American shortstop Sydney McKinney, power hitter Lauren Mills and first baseman Zoe Jones. The Shockers, NCAA regional participants three straight seasons and four of the past five, will do a lot of experimenting, teaching and learning this fall during practices and eight scrimmages.
 
"The learning curve is going to be really important for us," sophomore outfielder Taylor Sedlacek said.
 
Bredbenner will use the fall to find out what type of offensive team the Shockers are, a surprising question after years of record-breaking power. Injuries will keep All-American Athletic Conference outfielder Addison Barnard out of fall practices and limit all-conference center fielder Lauren Lucas' activity.
 
"The big difference for me is going to be figuring out who we are as an offense," Bredbenner said. "Can we hit the ball out of the ballpark, or are we going to have to manufacture runs and bunt a little bit more? Try to utilize a little more speed that we have?"
 
Hood, the AAC's Co-Defensive Player of the Year as a freshman, is a key figure. She will move to shortstop after playing second base last season. In addition to fielding and throwing, Hood is the person who needs to pick up a teammate after an error, convince a pitcher that ground balls are outs and get fielders in the right position.

 
"Shortstop is such a big one," Bredbenner said. "Sami Hood looks great there. From a leadership perspective, that presence of Sydney and the calm of having her out there is something we have to replace. We talked a lot about it (Wednesday). The confidence in talking and understanding what you're doing and believing that you're going to be able to make the play."
 
Hood, who hit .218 with seven home runs and seven doubles last season, feels more prepared after starting all 56 games last season and observing McKinney and Jones work on the infield.
 
"I feel like I can now help others, instead of always asking for the help," Hood said. "I can now give the help."
 
Hood and Sedlacek adjusted quickly to the college softball and played key roles last season. Sedlacek hit .271 with five home runs and five doubles in 47 starts. Now it's their job to help freshmen through all the jitters, questions and expectations that come with a step up.
 
Sedlacek's advice for the rookies is to remember to have fun. McKinney and Jones hyped her up on tough days and reminded her why coaches recruited her to WSU.
 
"I'm sharing my own experiences from freshman year," Sedlacek said. "Freshman year can be extremely overwhelming, whether you play or don't play. Trying to include them in things and help explain that they're doing better than they think."
 
While the losses are significant, the Shockers return six of their top nine hitters from last season and their top three pitchers. Pitchers Alex Aguilar and Lauren Howell earned second-team all-conference honors and Aguilar was the Rookie of the Year. Catcher Lainee Brown also grabbed a spot on the All-AAC second team.
 
The absence of Barnard and Lucas will give Shockers such as senior Bailey Urban, junior Camryn Compton and freshmen Mila Seaton, Sydney Zenon and Avery Barnard (Addison's sister) opportunities in the outfield. Sedlacek, who played right field last season, will practice in center this fall with Lucas sidelined.
 
"We've got quite a few kids that can play some outfield and some first base," Bredbenner said. "We're going to try to manipulate the lineup to give everybody as much opportunity as possible."
 
Courtney Oliver joined the staff as pitching coach in June after two seasons as associate head coach at Houston and six as head coach at ECU. Freshmen Chloe Barber and Erica Schertz join the staff and Bredbenner likes the speed of their pitches.
 
"Coach Oliver has a really good philosophy and mindset in there," Bredbenner said. "I've seen improvement in the returners in just three weeks."
 
Wichita State's next scrimmage is vs. Seminole State on Sept. 22 (5 p.m.) at Wilkins Stadium. Kansas visits for a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Sept. 24 and the Shockers play at Oklahoma State on Oct. 1.
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.