Softball | 4/24/2025 4:05:00 PM
By
Paul Suellentrop
Superstition means relying on a silly routine – same socks, jumping over the foul line – to hope for good luck. Routines might sound like superstition, but not in the case of Wichita State outfielder
Lauren Lucas.
In her case, routine is a devotion to eliminating luck as much as possible each time she steps into the batters box. Nothing is left to hope with Lucas' approach to softball. It is all about making good results happen because of hard work.
"You can be lucky, and get away with it for a minute, but you can't get away with it for four years," associate head coach
Elizabeth Economon said. "She wants to do extra and do all the things right, so she will be rewarded for doing things right. She does not cut corners."
Lucas, a graduate student from Little Elm, Texas, is nearing the end of one of Wichita State's best hitting careers and starting one as a coach.
The Shockers (24-21-1, 11-9-1 American Athletic Conference) play Charlotte (26-24, 13-8) in a series beginning with a doubleheader at 5 p.m. Friday at Wilkins Stadium. WSU's seniors will be honored in between games. (Updated information: Lucas earned AAC player of the week honors after hitting .583 with five home runs in four games from April 22-26. The Shockers won three of four games.)
Lucas' four years will put her name among WSU's career leaders in a variety of offensive categories. It starts with her career .380 batting average, which would rank second in program history.
Hit every day and hits become part of the routine.
"I believe that hitters that hit the most, hit the most," Lucas said. "I am very, very particular about the things I do, because I believe that when I don't do the things that have set me up for success in the past, I won't have success in the future."
Lucas hits every day, although as she gets older, she allows for more rest than in the past. She pours over scouting reports and studies pitchers grips and the positioning of fielders to get an edge.
"She wakes up every day ready to put in extra reps," teammate
Camryn Compton said. "A lot of us, on an off day, are like 'I want to rot in bed all day and go grab a coffee.' When there's an opportunity to get better, Lauren's there. That's who she is."
Lucas enters the series hitting .388 with an on-base percentage of .506 that leads the American Athletic Conference. She has 34 runs batted in, 11 doubles and nine home runs, one shy of last season's total. Her slugging percentage of .687 is a career best, as are her 33 walks.
In addition to her landing spot inside WSU's career best for batting average, she will likely finish in the top 10 for slugging percentage (currently .649) and on-base percentage (currently .467). Her 40 doubles are tied for seventh and 10 triples ties for fourth. She is in sixth with 136 RBI and needs only six more to move into the top five. Her next walk moves her into the top 10.
She earned Softball America third team All-American honors and all-conference honors in 2023 after hitting .384 with 62 RBI, second-most in WSU history. In 2022, she earned all-conference and third team All-Central Region honors.
"She is very driven, the most driven person I've ever met, the most hard-working person I've ever met," teammate
Sami Hood said. "She wants it so bad."
Teammates notice, and not just when things are going well.
As a freshman, minimal playing time didn't dampen her desire to hit and learn from older Shockers. Last season, while Lucas rehabbed from labrum surgery, she insisted on contributing by picking up softballs after drills and running the pitching machine during practice. In the dugout, she served as a student assistant by studying pitchers and watching signs.
"She was an extra set of eyes, and a really good set of eyes," Economon said. "She picked every (pitchers) grip when UTSA was here. Very observant."
The constant that teammates see is Lucas in the batting cage and working with Economon. If she goes 4-for-4, she hits. If she goes 0-for-4 (once this season), she hits.
"She's very analytical, but she works so hard," outfielder
Ellee Eck said. "She knows exactly what she needs to do after a swing, how she needs to adjust. One of the most hard-working individuals I've ever played with."
Lucas' contributions to the team aren't limited to line drives and running catches in right field. She understands the need for leaders to take the burden of defeat and frustration off teammates.
"If something goes wrong, she is the first one to take blame," Hood said. "We lost by one or two runs, and she said 'That's on me. If I just hit that ball like I'm supposed to and score that run and do my job, we win that game. I'll wear that one. Pitchers don't feel like you have to. Defense don't feel like you have to. I'll be better next time.'"
As a high school freshman, Lucas pitched and hit. Coach Christina Gwyn remembers her as talented, competitive and hard working at Little Elm High School. Like a lot of freshmen, she needed a boost of confidence.
Gwyn asked her why she didn't trust her abilities.
"She said 'Do you not trust your preparation?'" Lucas said. "She really instilled in my brain to trust my preparation. I decided if I was going to trust my preparation, I needed to make sure I was prepared. For me, that looks like taking a million swings and sticking to my routine."
Lucas, who is working on her master's degree in sport management, is two-time Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete. She started college, while majoring in sport management, planning to complete a law degree and work in professional baseball on the business side. Her time coaching a 16-under travel softball team in Texas during the summer of 2023 helped change her course to coaching.
"I had such a blast that summer, I thought 'This is what I have to do,'" she said. "They let me have free reign. I learned a ton from those girls over the summer and I hope they learned a little bit, at least one sentence, from me."
She will stay with WSU next year to work as a graduate assistant. Economon and WSU coach
Kristi Bredbenner consider her a natural teacher, especially for hitters.
"She's a really good communicator when it comes to her experience or what she's seeing," Bredbenner said. "She'll go up to a freshman or a senior and say 'Hey, I'm seeing this, or this is what has worked for me.' It's acknowledging strengths and weaknesses, and that's part of coaching."
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
