LeeAnn Lopez isn’t sure what is going through her head when she steps to the plate.
Lopez says she has been focusing on her hitting and with a .457 batting average, 17 home runs and 44 RBIs so far this season her focus has paid off.
“I honestly couldn’t tell you,” Lopez said. “I just go up and swing. I’ve gotten to the point where I just clear my head.”
The junior first baseman from Grand Prairie, Texas, was named NAIA and Sooner Athletic Conference player of the week for March 26-April 1.
“I’ve gotten better every year,” Lopez said. “When I’m up to bat I can get frustrated with myself, and it is just downhill from there, so I came up with a new approach.”
Lopez helped then fourth-ranked OCU to back-to-back sweeps of No. 21 Oklahoma Christian and No. 1 Lubbock Christian and is this week’s Super Star of the Week.
“Oklahoma Christian was definitely a tough game, and really nerve racking, and Lubbock was just phenomenal,” Lopez said. “We’re always competing with Lubbock. Every time we go to the SAC Tournament championship game, it’s always us going back-to-back with each other. It was really nice to get the sweep especially at their home field and especially since they were No. 1 at the time.”
Lopez went 9-for-17 with four home runs and seven RBIs en route to earning player of the week honors.
“It really hasn’t hit me yet,” Lopez said. “In my past two you years I have just been working on some things, so I have been improving a lot. Just hearing that is an honor to know that I have accomplished something these past two years.”
Lopez has high expectations for herself and for the Stars the rest of the way.
“I’m hoping to at least make first-team all-conference,” Lopez said. “My first couple of years I’ve gotten honorable mention, so it would be a huge accomplishment for me. As a team we want to win conference again, and we want to win an NAIA championship. My freshman year we were runner-up, and I have never felt anything like that, and I want to feel that feeling again, especially with this team since we have been working really well together so far.”
Lopez, an early childhood education major, chose to play at OCU because of the program’s tradition and because of the school’s size.
“Softball was my number one reason,” Lopez said. “OCU has a good program, great coach and great team. Education wise, there is small enough class sizes for me to get one-on-one time with my professors and they are willing to work with me during the season since we have been traveling.”
More on LeeAnn:
My nickname: Fez
Number of text messages I have sent today: 20
Sporting event I would like to see someday: Rowing
Favorite teacher: Sharon Pyeatt
Reason I picked OCU: To become part of a great program
