FAYETTEVILLE -- Megan Luetkemeyer noticed many differences between softball in Arkansas and Ohio when she first arrived in Fayetteville.
The one constant the Lady Bulldogs have picked up since she first joined the team is a tireless work ethic and drive to improve on the diamond.
Profile
Megan Luetkmeyer
School: Fayetteville
Class: Senior
Position: Catcher
Notable: Two-year starter for the Lady Bulldogs. … Hitting .281 with eight runs batted in and a .361 on-base percentage this season. … Has committed just one error in 12 games. … Moved to Fayetteville from Ohio prior to her junior season.
"She is one of the first ones here every day and she's always working on something," Fayetteville softball coach Jason Shirey said. "She's always looking for ways to do more, and she's just a kid who you know you're going to get her best effort. She's going to play hard and do the right things."
Luetkemeyer has played the past two seasons with the Lady Bulldogs, quickly earning a spot in the starting lineup as the catcher. But playing at Fayetteville, as opposed to high school softball in Ohio, was an adjustment.
"In Ohio travel ball was more prominent than school ball and here school ball is the big thing," Luetkemeyer said. "I mostly played in the summer in Ohio, but it's different here.
"That was a big change. There's less traveling ball here and that's not what I was used to."
After a junior year in which Luetkemeyer struggled at times with the bat, but showed off a consistent defensive effort behind home plate, she's developed into more of an all-around threat for the Lady'Dogs. In 12 games, she has raised her batting average to .281 with eight RBIs, while committing just one error in the field.
"A lot of what we did in preseason was working on (hitting)," Luetkemeyer said. "That's what has gotten a lot better since last year."
Luetkemeyer has been a part of two Fayetteville teams unlike most in the program's storied history. A regular at or near the top of the 7A-West Conference standings, the Lady Bulldogs have fought through inexperience both last spring and this season. But while she hasn't yet been part of a championship squad at Fayetteville, Luetkemeyer knows all about the strong tradition.
"I've heard a lot of things about how good it's been here," Luetkemeyer said. "It was a bit intimidating at first when I went into my junior year. But now as a team we're really putting forth our best effort.
"I see a lot of improvement. We've got a lot of strong young players and I think we'll only get better."
Fayetteville (6-6, 1-3 7A-West) is still right in the thick of the 7A-West playoff race, despite a slow start to league play. A 7-4 loss against conference leader Rogers High on Friday showed signs of a team close to turning the corner.
Luetkemeyer believes the Lady Bulldogs' best softball is still ahead of them. And Fayetteville is glad to have her as part of the building process as it counts on better days in the near future.
"She's a kid that's real easy to coach," Shirey said. "She's great for everybody else and we know she's going to give us everything she has.
"That helps us as coaches, knowing what she's going to bring to the table. And she's really helped us these last two years."
Vernon Tarver can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAVernon
Sports on 04/14/2015