ROGERS — Rogers Heritage freshman Lindsay Glynn admitted to having some jitters in her first season playing high school softball, but it’s sure hard to tell.
She leads the Lady War Eagles with a .468 batting average hitting out of the lead-off spot for most of the season. Glynn has also developed into a solid pitcher, going 6-1 with two saves, a 2.78 earned-run average and two complete games for Heritage (11-9, 5-5 7A/6A-West).
Profile
Lindsay Glynn
School: Rogers Heritage
Class: Freshman
Height: 5-foot-5
Notable: Leads the team with a .468 batting average and also has a 6-1 record with two saves in the circle for the Lady War Eagles this season. … Starts in the outfield when she’s not pitching for Heritage.
“It’s nerve-racking sometimes,” Glynn said. “I get nervous before every game. I’m not sure why. I guess it’s the mindset of being a freshman.”
Glynn has been the one to cause problems for the opposition both at the plate and in the circle.
She wasn’t in the lineup for Heritage’s opening game this season, but it didn’t take her long to get there. And it’s been nearly impossible to get her out since then.
Heritage softball coach Tiffany Taylor isn’t surprised. She knew Glynn could help her team from the first day she came to practice. But Glynn has still exceeded Taylor’s expectations.
“I expected her to be a solid contributor,” Taylor said. “I didn’t expect her to be my lead-off hitter and leading the team in hitting.”
Glynn is a good athlete, which allows her to compete well at the high school level even as a freshman, Taylor said. But her competitive nature serves Glynn well, too.
“She can run, throw, hit, but she’s got that mentality that you’re not gonna beat her,” Taylor said. “She’s a go-getter, a gamer. She’s got the right attitude.”
It’s not like playing softball is something new for Glynn, who has played the game as long as she can remember.
But she acknowledged playing softball at the high school level is different. It’s also been different attending a public high school, after going to St. Vincent de Paul Catholic school in Rogers until this year.
“It’s been a learning experience,” Glynn said. “It’s been so much fun. I have a great team and great teammates. It’s different playing against juniors and seniors.I have to get the ball to curve a little more. I definitely can’t make many mistakes or they will bomb it over.
“It was also different since I really didn’t know anybody. But they were all very welcoming.”
Glynn said she got a big confidence boost with some early success both at the plate and in the circle.
She pointed to one particular instance against Morrilton early in the season when she worked out of a big-time jam in extra innings and helped Heritage rally for a win. The Lady Devil Dog had two runners on with nobody out in the top of the eighth, but Glynn managed to keep the game tied.
“I don’t know what was running through my mind right then, but ‘I’ve got to finish this,’” Glynn said. “Then we got out of it and I thought ‘This can happen.’ I had full trust in my team. This is my team. This is my family.”
Glynn uses a good change-up and curveball to keep the opposition off-balance, Taylor said.
Opponents are starting to get a scouting report on Glynn and look for the change-up, but she can still get people out if it’s in the right location, Taylor said.
“We’re working her keeping the change-up down,” Taylor said. “She’s not an unknown anymore. If she hangs that change, they are gonna sit on it. But she’s done a good job working on it.
“She can throw it for a strike, too, and we can start a count with it and work ahead.”
Currently, Glynn just hopes her team can get a chance to help her team some more. She suffered a knee injury during Heritage’s extra-inning loss at Fayetteville.
Taylor said she’s hopeful Glynn can return to the field if Heritage can make the state tournament.
But for now, Glynn will be limited to cheering for her teammates as they finish the final two weeks of conference play.