Sophomore shortstop Lauren Delahoussaye is finally getting her chance to play the position she wants to play, but wants to be more consistent.
Delahoussaye said she believes she has done the best she can but knows there are others that can help out if she cannot.
“I think I’ve just tried to contribute to the team the best way that I could, and when that doesn’t happen, someone else steps up and does it,” Delahoussaye said.
The Lafayette native also said she wants to play like she did the first part of the season.
“Just to get back to where I was at the beginning [to] middle of the season,” Delahoussaye said. “I just felt like I was contributing a lot more then.”
Delahoussaye said she is the person expected to move base runners around the bases.
“I see myself as a person that gets the RBIs and moves the runners because I’m in the middle of the order and there’s going to be people on base in front of me and I need to move them or score them in,” Delahoussaye said. “I feel like that’s what I should be doing.”
Delahoussaye is currently hitting .340 (55 for 162). She has started all 52 of the Tigers’ games. She has scored 37 times, hit 10 doubles, nine home runs and has knocked in 36 runs. She has 92 total bases.
Delahoussaye also has a .568 slugging percentage. She has been walked 13 times, hit by a pitch and struck out 17 times. She carries a .385 on base percentage. She is 4-4 in stolen base attempts.
Coach Yvette Girouard said Delahoussaye has played well.
“I think that she’s played really great,” Girouard said. “She stepped in and took over [the starting shortstop] role. She’s played some really incredible games for us. She was a one-woman demolishing team during the Alabama series and she’s an easy person for a coach to coach because she is a nice person.”
In the Alabama series, Delahoussaye had five hits in nine at-bats. She scored five runs, knocked in six runs and was walked three times. She also had seven put outs and three assists in the field.
At the shortstop position, Delahoussaye has 93 put outs, 75 assists for the season, and has committed 20 errors. She carries an .894 fielding percentage.
Girouard also said she and Delahoussaye have the same expectations on the way Delahoussaye plays.
“[I expect her] to remain consistent, get some good hits for us, [and] cut down on her errors,” Girouard said. “Shortstops are going to make errors because they handle the ball more than any other person on the team, so just to cut down on her errors.”
Pitcher Kristin Schmidt said Delahoussaye provides great support on defense.
“Lauren’s a great teammate and a great friend,” Schmidt said. “She makes great plays out there behind me and she has an incredible bat.”
Delahoussaye said the team will make the Women’s College World Series this year.
“I think we can go far,” Delahoussaye said. “I think we can make it to the World Series. I definitely believe that. We could win. But, I know we’ll be there.”