Every time Jasmine Watson steps to the plate, she digs into the batter’s box with the same mentality. That mindset is to ‘go big.’ And her ferocious swing undoubtedly matches that frame of mind.

It’s a swing that makes teammates happy they don’t have to pitch to her. Even though Syracuse’s softball season is young, Watson’s is already striking fear into opposing pitchers.

‘If I were a pitcher, I’d be scared,’ teammate Carey-Leigh Thomas said. ‘Like I wouldn’t know how to pitch to her.’

And from Watson’s first five games, there’s already an indication pitchers don’t know how to avoid the big swing of the sophomore slugger. The designated player already has three home runs and leads the team with a .438 batting average. Watkins, who has swung for the fences even as a little kid, has become a force in the middle of the lineup, which leaves her teammates in awe of her power.

Thomas, a freshman third baseman, was instantly impressed the moment she first saw Watson at the plate.

Watson has carried that big swing throughout her softball career. Coaches have constantly tried to change a swing they felt was too big for the 5-foot-9 righty.

Most coaches preach having a short, compact swing. But every time coaches tried that approach with Watson, cutting down on her swing simply wasn’t an option.

‘All the time. When I was younger they used to tell me that, that I always swing to hit home runs, but I never thought about it,’ Watson said. ‘I mean, every time I go to bat I don’t really think that. Sometimes I just want to hit it out of the park.’

By sticking with her instincts, the California native has made her way to Syracuse. And SU head coach Leigh Ross wants nothing more than to see her continue with the mentality that got her on the Orange — big swing with big results.

‘I love it,’ Ross said. ‘Coach (Wally) King works with her a lot. From day one he’s told her to keep swinging big like that because you never want to make a kid that strong unaggressive. You want her to be aggressive.’

But while Ross admires the brute power Watson shows off, there were still necessary tweaks to her swing.

Ross said Watson struggled with pulling up and off the ball. Her looping, power-hitting swing helped her, but it also hurt her to a certain extent.

Through hard work Watson started trusting her hands and staying on the ball longer.

Ross has been impressed by how much Watson has adapted. Most hitters aren’t always willing to deviate from the mechanics they’ve always relied on, but the sophomore has taken their coaching well.

‘It’s tough for a hitter who’s always been successful to tweak when you get to the next level to try to make swing a little bit better because you’re going to be facing better pitching,’ Ross said.

So with a tweak here and there, Watson can still hit with a loaded swing that she knows will result in long balls. In this weekend’s slate of games, she said she’s looking to hit at least one homer.

It’s the power that Ross and Thomas both said didn’t surprise them at all when Watson cranked three out of the park a couple of weeks ago. And it’s a swing that makes Ross feel sorry for opposing pitchers and thankful she won’t ever be in their shoes.

‘I always think, gosh, the pitcher on the other team got to be thinking, ‘Look at that swing,” Ross said. ‘I don’t know if I want to face that kid. It’s kind of intimidating.’

dgproppe@syr.edu

 

Published on February 21, 2012 at 12:00 pm