ROGERS --Sarah Pollock is learning to make adjustments.
She enjoyed a banner season a year ago, helping to lead the Rogers Heritage softball team to the Class 7A state quarterfinals. The right-hander finished 16-7 with a sparkling 1.96 ERA in the circle and earned all-state honors as a sophomore.
Profile
SARAH POLLOCK
SCHOOL Rogers Heritage
CLASS Junior
HEIGHT 5-10
NOTABLE Currently hitting .314 with 10 RBIs this season for the Lady War Eagles, similar to last year’s .316 average with one home run and 14 RBIs … Earned all-state honors as a junior and helped the War Eagles to a Class 7A state quarterfinal appearance by going 16-7 with a 1.96 ERA. … Plays softball in the summer with the Northwest Arkansas Hot Shots.
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Heritage coach Tiffany Taylor and Pollock herself acknowledged they were surprised at her level of success.
"I didn't expect that at all," Pollock said. "I just wanted to play the game and my team will carry me."
Fast forward to her junior season and there's been a few bumps in the road. But Taylor said Pollock has benefited from some of those struggles.
"She's had some ups and downs, but I think it's been good for her because she's had to work through some stuff," Taylor said. "It's going to help her growth as a player, it's just hard to go through it as a player.
"She started the year trying to strike everybody out. She was focused on throwing hard and not as focused on just snap it. It's something she's had to undo."
Taylor pointed to a game a couple of weeks ago in which Pollock battled despite not having her best stuff in a 1-0 loss to crosstown rival Rogers High.
"I saw her work through it, one pitch is not working, go to something else," Taylor said. "She was able to get hitters to hit the ball where we could make a play on it. She's learning how to pitch, not just throw."
Working to spin the ball and put pitches exactly where she wants them has been one aspect of pitching Pollock has focused on this season. But that has come at the expense of a few miles per hour, Pollock said.
The key is being able to put the two together and the junior is working hard to do just that. However, the mental aspect of the game is something she's dealing with this season, too.
"The mental part is definitely hard," Taylor said. "Learning how to shut your brain off and let your body do what it's supposed to do is tough. It's something she's trying to figure out. I've seen highlights in her and seen her work through the mental part of her game and seen her get better."
Pollock said she's just going to keep working at it.
"I get nervous out there," she said. "I just have to have a good attitude all the time and focus 100 percent."
Something else different for Pollock this season is becoming a team leader as she's now a year older.
Taylor said that transition has gone well.
"She's a great kid, one of our team captains," Taylor said. "That speaks a lot to her as a person because she had to turn in a resume and interview for the position. It's not based one what you do on the field."
The Lady War Eagles have climbed back to .500 at 11-11 overall and 6-4 in the 7A-West Conference thanks to back-to-back wins earlier this week.
With only a couple weeks left in the regular season, Pollock has confidence the Lady War Eagles will finish strong and make a state tournament run.
"We have to come together as a team, buckle down," Pollock said. "We have good chemistry. I think we can do big things. We have a lot of talent."
Sports on 04/27/2017