Smackover's Pullin enjoys record-breaking offensive season

Smackover's Lydia Pullin follows through on a hit in action this season. The junior batted .602 with 14 home runs and was named News-Times Softball Player of the Year.
Smackover's Lydia Pullin follows through on a hit in action this season. The junior batted .602 with 14 home runs and was named News-Times Softball Player of the Year.

The offensive numbers put up by Smackover’s Lydia Pullin this past season looked like a misprint. Or, perhaps these statistics were compiled by a very good slow pitch softball hitter?

The numbers appeared out of place so let’s spell out, her batting average was Six-Oh-Two.

Nope, that’s still crazy.

Pullin set school single-season records for batting average, hits, home runs and RBI as she powered Smackover’s Bomb Squad to a state-record 47 homers and a 26-4 record.

Pullin batted .602 with 14 home runs and 11 doubles with 51 RBI and 48 runs scored. She had 68 hits on the season in 113 at-bats.

“I was just helping my team, getting base hits,” Pullin said modestly.

“The numbers she put up, just stellar hitting,” said Smackover coach Dennis Steele. “She hit the ball hard.”

The junior rightfielder moved from the middle of the lineup to become Smackover’s lead-off hitter this past season. As the table setter, she set the tone for the rest of the batting order.

“I was kind of nervous at first because it’s a big role. I was extremely nervous,” said Pullin, who had always enjoyed batting lower in the order.

“It’s easier because you get to see the pitcher throw more pitches. When you’re leading off, you don’t get to see that.”

For Steele, putting Pullin in the lead-off role made perfect sense. She simply got more opportunities to hit. It didn’t matter if she was the team’s premier power hitter.

“You think a lead-off batter, well, she’s not going to hit homers. A lot of people questioned, why did I do that? Well, I’d love to start the game off 1-0. How great is that?” Steele said with a laugh. “The other reason I did it is because you know (hitters) 1-2-3-4 are going to get more at-bats. That’s who you want up to bat.”

Pullin insisted her focus at the plate was just to make contact. The balls leaving the yard were the result of the work she put in before the season even started.

“I work a lot in the off-season on just getting my form down. Once you get your form down, home runs start coming. I’m more of a power hitter so it was easy for me,” said Pullin, who described the feeling when she was in her hitting zone.

“It’s kind of like, once you start hitting them out, you know what pitch you’re going to hit. Once you see it, you just start smiling because you know it’s fixing to happen.”

Pullin’s offensive numbers were staggering. It’s difficult to understand how she kept getting pitches to hit. She homered in the first round of the 3A State Tournament and, also hit one out in the regional.

“I didn’t put my stats on MaxPreps,” said Steele. “I didn’t want to give these teams a head’s up. ‘Don’t pitch to that girl. She’s got 14 homers.’ I did it purposely, not put anything in there so they wouldn’t get a scouting report to other teams.”

The sneaky strategy worked as Pullin probably saw more pitches than a player of her status should have. The state tournament, however, made the scouting report moot as Paris pitcher Sidney Ward shut out the Lady Bucks on just one hit.

Pullin went hitless and, a week later, was still not happy about it.

“The umpire was very inconsistent in calls. They were low and outside,” she said of the strike zone. “We had to chase ‘em. You just have to swing for ‘em and hope you make contact.”

Whether she’s accurate in her assessment of the strike zone could be a matter of conjecture. But the bitterness left after the outcome might be the fuel that propels Pullin through the off-season and into a scary senior season for Smackover’s opponents.

"I'm going to focus more on fundamentals and not over thinking," said Pullin, who sports eye black in the form of crosses during games as a statement of her faith.

"Everything I do is for Him."

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