Softball fans will witness a line-up change on Wednesday that they have not seen much over the past four seasons, when someone other than team captain Julie Wiese gets the nod at third base.
Coach Yvette Girouard decided to keep Wiese out of tonight’s game, but said Wiese will return this weekend after resting an eye that needed 30 stitches after being struck by a foul ball this past Saturday.
“It’s very disappointing,” Wiese said. “I can’t get out on the field, but I know I still have a role on this team as a leader.”
LSU is unaccustomed to playing without Wiese. The 2003 SEC Academic Honor Roll member said she missed one game in her first three seasons.
“She wasn’t in the game at Ole Miss and they handled it well,” Girouard said. “She will be in the dugout with us, so that’s a good thing.”
Girouard has been uncertain about Wiese’s status for the past four days, but Girouard can attest to Wiese’s value to the team over the past four years.
“It’s so much more than what you do on the field, it’s how you represent LSU softball,” Girouard said. “She has her priorities in order. She puts God first, family second, school third and softball fourth, and that’s the way it should be. She’s been a pleasure to coach.”
While Wiese carries a good batting average and a slew of individual awards, she does not have the highest team batting average or the most home runs. What teammates say made them vote Wiese captain are her intangible leadership skills that pull teammates together on and off the field.
“It was a very big compliment to be named captain,” Wiese said. “I try to be supportive of the team in any way I can.”
Teammate Emily Turner said Wiese has been much more than supportive.
“We all have nicknames on this team,” Turner said. “One player’s name is ‘heart,’ mine is ‘energy,’ and she was named ‘rock,’ because she’s that supportive rock that holds us together.”
To say that the team “hangs together” may be an understatement.
“The thing about us is our team chemistry,” Turner said. “A lot of people didn’t think we had the talent to compete with the elite. Outside of softball we all hang out, we love going to practice because we all love being around each other. It all helps us out when we’re on the field. All the ball clubs have their share of top players like we do, and that extra chemistry is the edge we have.”
Wiese and her teammates are now trying to use that chemistry to push toward a fourth consecutive SEC Championship in addition to another shot at the NCAA Championships.
“I have three SEC rings and I want one more,” Wiese said. “The most exciting thing is that this team has a chance to go back to the NCAA Championships. Going out this way would be the best possible situation. I feel happy with the way things have been. I don’t have any regrets because I think I have grown to be a better person.”
Wiese said she now understands how great an experience it is to be part of a team, especially with the players she has been with.
“Coach Girouard told us that we will never fight for anything else like when you’re on a team,” Wiese said. “A lot of times I took playing here for granted, and now since it’s finally over, I realize how special it really is.”
Wiese’s teammates are not the only people she said she feels special working with.
Teammate Emily Turner said she will miss a lot of things from Wiese other than playing with her on the field.
“Her patience, her perseverance, her kindness to everyone, she’s also a hardworking student.
“She’s really the embodiment of the ideal player.”
Turner said she saw the same qualities in Wiese in her first practice at LSU.
“I picked her, because coming in as a freshman I needed someone to assume the role as a leader for us,” Turner said. “She has all the qualities a leader should possess, she’s one of those players every athlete should model their game after.”