After Lawrence University shortstop Carli Gurholt blasted a foul ball out of the park last Sunday at the University of Chicago, Maroons coach Ruth Kmak breathed a noticeable sigh of relief.
The relief didn’t last long.
Two pitches later, Gurholt hit a grand slam that broke Lawrence’s career home run record. A native of tiny Scandinavia in central Wisconsin, Gurholt has battled through injury the past two seasons but the senior has become one of the most prolific hitters in Lawrence history.
“She threw me an off-speed inside pitch and I cranked it foul,” said Gurholt, who now has 22 career homers and 106 runs batted in.
“It was an 0-2 count. I was protecting the plate. I consider myself more of an aggressive hitter. If they screw up and pitch it to me, I’ll hit it.”
Gurholt, who has been hampered by an injury to her non-throwing arm, is leading the team with a .453 batting average to go along with 11 doubles, one triple, three homers and 23 RBI.
“I was going into the season thinking I was going to be a defensive player,” said Gurholt, who was hurt initially last season and decided to play through the pain this year.
“I didn’t have any offensive expectations of myself. It’s a huge surprise that I can play and hit.”
Lawrence coach Kim Tatro said she was concerned at how limited the 2009 Midwest Conference North Division Player of the Year was going to be this season.
“Am I surprised? Yes, but I’m thrilled. She’s far exceeded what we thought she was going to be able to do this year,” Tatro said.
“Early in the season, we went in with the mindset she wouldn’t hit at all.”
Tatro said the coaching staff has tried to be smart in how much Gurholt practices and even limiting her game time here and there. That’s tough for a player like Gurholt, who thrives on taking the field every day.
“Carli is a perfectionist and is the type of kid who loves practice and loves repetitions,” Tatro said.
“She doesn’t have a 75 percent switch. When she takes the field she goes all out. She’s going to dive for a ball in practice, and I can’t stop her from doing that.”
A career .392 hitter, Gurholt has learned from this experience that she can rely on all the work she has put in through the years.
“It makes me feel better if I practice and practice my swing. I just have to trust myself. Those thousands of swings I’ve taken off the tee, I have to trust that,” Gurholt said.
“This injury has taught me to be more selective. I haven’t been able to see the ball quite this well before. I’ve been more disciplined. I think I’m using that to my benefit.”
“I’m really confident with her ability to have a quality at-bat,” Tatro said. “That’s plus for us and led to her success. It’s what makes her great.
She kind of thinks like a coach, and I’ve told her this before. She has a keen sense of awareness in many phases of the game that most college players don’t have.”
Gurholt has been pretty selective, drawing a team-high 15 walks in 23 games and has a sparkling .586 on-base percentage.
Gurholt knows patience, both for her and this pretty young Vikings team, will be a key as they drive toward a spot in the four-team Midwest Conference Tournament. She believes the team’s continued offensive improvement will be a key in the final weeks of the regular season.
“If we can focus on hitting good pitches and go up there ready to hit the ball, then we have a chance,” Gurholt said.
Wind knocks down Stevens
Sophomore Sam Stevens was on pace to post a provisional qualifying time for the NCAA Division III Championships in the 800 meters this past Sunday at the Wisconsin Lutheran Relays, and then he turned for home. Right into the teeth of a 25 mile per hour wind.
Stevens won the event but finished in 1:58.78, but needs to shave a little more than six seconds off that time to be a provisional qualifier.
Tepper tops the list
Sophomore Rose Tepper also won at the Wisconsin Lutheran Relays, taking first in the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 4.25 inches. That is the best jump in the conference thus far this season.
Tepper, a NCAA Championships qualifier during the indoor season, needs a jump of 5-5 to provisionally qualify for the outdoor meet.
Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a weekly notes package written by Lawrence University Sports Information Director Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.