Rounding Third Softball

UC San Diego Head Coach Patti Gerckens collected her 800th career coaching victory on Sunday. The Tritons defeated Sacramento State 6-1 at the La Jolla Invitational. Gerckens is in her 29th season coaching UCSD.

Georgia Tech hurler Blake Neleman had a career day on Sunday as the Yellow Jackets downed host Mississippi State 4-1 on the final day of the Bulldog Kickoff Classic. The Junior struck out 12 Bulldogs while allowing one run on just three hits. The Ramblin’ Wreck are off to an 8-2 start this season.

One of the best stories so far from this young 2022 season could be from one of the newest members of Division I, Tarleton State. The upstart Texans are off to a 10-0 start in just their second year of DI after transitioning from Division II. Tarleton swept through tournaments at Furman opening weekend and one they hosted at home in Stephenville this weekend to start the season. Along the way the member of the WAC knocked off Power 5 competitor and ACC member Syracuse.

Jones College Head Coach Chris Robinson collected his 500th career coaching win on Saturday in an 8-4 victory over Illinois Central. Robinson, in his 13th season, has guided the Bobcats to a 500-120 record.

Megan Langenfeld was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday. The Bruin Legend was named the Most Outstanding Player at the Women’s College World Series in 2010. She hit .706 with a then-record four home runs, and earned three victories in the circle as UCLA went on to secure the National Championship. A three-time All-American, Langenfeld was the 2010 Pac-10 Player of the Year.

The University of Texas Tyler is the unanimous No. 1 in the first NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll of the 2022 season. The Patriots received all 16 first-place votes after starting the season 9-0.

Rank	School	Points	2022 Record	Prev. Ranking
1	UT Tyler (16)	400	9-0	1
2	Valdosta State	371	6-2	7
3	North Georgia	364	8-2	5
4	Concordia Irvine	363	12-0	10
5	West Texas A&M	329	6-2	4
6	Minnesota State	310	4-1	11
7	Grand Valley State	308	0-0	6
8	Augustana	292	4-3	2
9	Angelo State	246	10-1	18
10	Indianapolis	225	3-1	12
11	Auburn Montgomery	219	5-2	14
12	Cal State Monterey Bay	214	6-1	NR
13	Lincoln Memorial	196	6-2	13
14	Rogers State	194	10-1	RV
15	Oklahoma Christian	185	6-2	15
16	Central Oklahoma	138	7-2	20
17	Tampa	127	5-3	RV
18	Georgian Court	124	0-0	19
19	Chico State	97	8-2	NR
20	Texas A&M-Kingsville	89	8-1	RV
21	West Florida	80	5-3	17
22	Biola	74	5-4	3
23	Anderson	56	11-1	RV
24	Saint Anselm	48	1-4	8
t25	UAH	42	8-1	23
t25	West Liberty	42	0-0	24

New to Poll: No. 12 Cal State Monterey Bay, No. 14 Rogers State, No. 17 Tampa, No. 19 Chico State, No. 20 Texas A&M-Kingsville, No. 23 Anderson.

Dropped Out: No. 9 West Chester, No. 16 Southern Arkansas, No. 21 Colorado Mesa, No. 22 Texas A&M University-Commerce, No. 25 Central Missouri.

Yavapai College Head Coach Doug Eastman collected his 800th career coaching victory today in a doubleheader drubbing of Paradise Valley Community College 22-1 and 30-0. Eastman is in his eighth season coaching the Roughriders after 12 seasons coaching at the College of the Siskiyous.

The best softball team on the planet is gearing up for the 2022 season. Japan announced today a 20-player Women’s National Softball Team preliminary roster for the international season. That season will be highlighted by dates competing in The World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Japan is coming off their Olympic Gold Medal win at the Tokyo Summer Games. Heroines of those games Yukiko Ueno, Miu Goto and Yamato Fujita headline a roster that includes many new young faces after the retirement of some Japanese National Team stalwarts.

This week On Deck with Dobbins takes a unique look into not only the sport of softball, but how softball can cross over into the realm of baseball.

Kayla Baptista seems like the normal, high-level collegiate softball athlete. Baptista, a middle infielder for the University of North Carolina, made 23 starts, appearing in 29 games, averaging .267 at the plate in 60 at-bats, recording 16 hits, plating 13 runs and two RBIs. After that however, the normality for the now sophomore Tar Heel seems to change dramatically.

Baptista was recently hired by the Texas Rangers of MLB as a coach. She becomes the first female coach hired by the Rangers for an on-field role. RTS’s Lee Dobbins had a chance to sit down with Kayla Baptista to talk about her journey between diamonds.

Lee Dobbins: What brought you to the point with this opportunity with the Texas Rangers and that pathway to Professional Baseball?

Kayla Baptista: I have been a baseball fan my entire life. Baseball‘s been a part of my family dynamic since I can remember. My family and I have been to many Red Sox and PawSox games; we’ve even taken family vacations to Tampa to hit the beach and go to all the area stadiums for spring training games. I’ve also given baseball and softball private lessons since the eighth grade; but I took a huge step towards my career in 2019 when I went to Aruba to help with 297 Baseball Academy camp. I was at the field from about eight in the morning until midnight, and never did it feel like a second of work. This is when I realized that I could do this for the rest of my life. Soon after, I reached out to Rachel Balkovec, and she became my mentor. I took a life-changing, next step and reached out to Cape Cod Baseball League team managers asking to be an assistant coach in any way. The Wareham Gatemen replied and asked me to send videos of me throwing batting practice and hitting fungo.  They welcomed me and it turned out to be the greatest experience of my life…and I’m very grateful that I chose to document some of those best memories through a twitter blog. You can see days 1 – 52 of my internship @kbappy3 on twitter. That experience is what led to a lot of exposure. I’ve had many phone calls and interviews with major league organizations; the one that stood out to me the most was with the Texas Rangers.  They invited me out to Arizona for their last week of instructs. That week was filled with me throwing batting practice, working with the infield, coaching first, and spending a lot of quality time with all the staff while talking a lot of baseball. As a result, they offered me the job, and I accepted their job in the beginning of December!

Dobbins: What is your plan in balancing this position and that of the student-athlete with your commitments at UNC and its softball program?

Baptista: I always tell myself to be where my feet are. A lot of the time that is easier said than done since I am so excited to be working for the Rangers; but we have our eyes on an ACC championship right now. While I am with Carolina Softball, all my focus is on achieving that goal. I am very organized and plan my day out to the minute.  Along with getting all my schoolwork done and putting my work in for softball, I try to do at least one thing each day that takes me one step closer to my goal in coaching. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like there’s enough time in the day but there’s always a way to get it done if your priorities are straight. And, yes, I do keep in touch with the Rangers. 

Dobbins: What are your long-range goals in professional baseball? With you working on the coaching side, any thoughts on that being in the sport of softball at any point?

Baptista: My goal is to manage in the Major Leagues. Until then I’ll be full steam ahead, learning as much as I can and working my way up the system. Honestly, I have not had any thoughts about coaching in softball, but I will always be an advocate for and willing to help any softball team and players in any way!

Dobbins: Talk a little about the dynamic of a female athlete coaching male athletes. What are the similarities, differences, and maybe challenges you have run into?

Baptista: I never notice that I am the only female on the field, until hearing a few comments. One time an umpire asked if I was the athletic trainer when I was standing right in front of him in a full uniform. Another time I was coaching first base and someone screamed out of the dugout, asking if I knew what a back-pick was. I never let these comments bother me. I tell myself that there’s no way of proving it to them besides just showing up and kicking ass.  I’m sure there will be some challenges along the way, but I’m okay with that.  I’m hoping that my hard work, passion, and knowledge will overcome any bias.

Dobbins: What are your current thoughts on the MLB Lockout? How would that affect your first assignment in the Dominican Republic as it stands? 

Baptista: I hope that the players association and the owners can come to a fair agreement. It’s a very important matter, so taking time to make sure both ends agree is imperative, but I also would love for the lockout to end so we can get on the field and get to work! As of now, there’s no change to my first assignment in the Dominican Republic.

Dobbins: What are your goals in the next several years as you complete your collegiate eligibility?

Baptista: To win an ACC championship! 

Dobbins: Talk a little about your upbringing in the two sports. Who has been most influential in your development as a player and coach?

Baptista: My true inspiration for becoming involved in baseball is Kelly Rodman. I had the chance to listen and meet her at a conference in Connecticut. Her passion and love for the game spoke right to me. Just the fact that she was on that stage still serving the game as she was battling against her last stages of breast cancer was inspiring in and of itself. Each day I strive to make her proud and make a difference in this game just as she would still be doing.

From an athlete/player standpoint, I have always looked up to Tom Brady. Starting out, he was never the best and most people would say that he had all odds against him. Like him, I was always the smallest standing 5’2”, from the small state of Rhode Island. No one would’ve ever thought that athletically I would be where I am today. He was never a starter, but he worked harder. He has worked for absolutely everything that he has. He taught me how to earn everything that I want and ultimately, he taught me how to be a great leader and competitor.

From both an athlete and coaching standpoint my mentality is very heavily influenced by being from the northeast and playing on Dave Lotti’s RI Thunder 18U team from the 8th grade through senior year. My skills, technique, and knowledge were gained through hours and hours of practice focusing on perfecting the tiniest of details. Literally, our blood, sweat, and tears on that field was why we were an extremely tough team. We would always think about the California teams who have the advantage of year-round play with their consistently competitive schedules. We would say, “If we aren’t going to be the biggest, strongest and most talented team in the country, then we can most certainly be the toughest, smartest and hardest-working team in the country.” The Thunder organization has prepared me extremely well for the next level mentally, physically and emotionally and that’s where my coaching style comes from as well. 

The Sooners roll into Week 2 of the 2022 season still unanimously No. 1. Oklahoma, 5-0 on the opening weekend, held all 32 first-place votes in this weeks USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. Along with No. 2 Alabama (4-0) and No. 3 UCLA (4-1), the top three spots remained the same.

Rank	School (First Place Votes)	Points	2022 Record	Prev. Ranking
1	Oklahoma (32)	800	5-0	1
2	Alabama	765	4-0	2
3	UCLA	728	4-1	3
4	Florida	669	4-0	6
5	Florida State	665	4-0	4
6	Washington	639	5-0	7
7	Oklahoma State	604	4-1	5
8	Virginia Tech	540	5-0	13
9	Arizona	522	3-1	9
10	Arkansas	485	3-2	8
11	Texas	455	4-1	10
12	Oregon	379	5-0	18
13	Georgia	374	5-1	12
14	Duke	356	4-1	20
15	Clemson	345	3-1	15
16	Kentucky	294	4-1	19
17	Missouri	264	3-2	11
18	Tennessee	249	4-0	22
19	Michigan	226	3-2	16
20	Louisiana	208	5-0	23
21	LSU	207	4-2	14
22	JMU	176	0-0	17
23	Arizona State	161	3-2	21
24	UCF	93	3-1	RV
25	Wichita State	45	4-1	25

New to Poll: No. 24 UCF

Dropped Out: No. 24 Liberty

Receiving Votes: Northwestern (42), Auburn (30), Minnesota (22), Notre Dame (15), Illinois (12), USF (8), Liberty (6), Iowa State (5), Stanford (5), Tarleton State (3), Austin Peay (2), Alabama State (1).