Hallie Wacaser was a freshman at Bentonville West when she watched Florida State win the 2017 Women's College World Series, just shortly after she committed to play softball for the Seminoles.
Wacaser is now a redshirt sophomore outfielder at Florida State (55-9), which begins its quest for another national title tonight when the third-ranked Seminoles take on No. 9 Oklahoma State in the WCWS at Oklahoma City.
"Since we live so close, I would go there all the time," Wacaser said of attending the WCWS. "I watched Florida State win its championship in 2017, which was pretty cool. My freshman year, I ended up redshirting but we went there, and it was awesome.
"I"m super excited to be going as a player and having the opportunity to play on that field."
Wacaser has been a regular contributor in Florida State's lineup this season, playing in 62 of the Seminoles' 64 games -- including 51 starts, mainly in right field. She enters today's game with a .325 batting average with 3 home runs, 12 doubles and 34 RBI.
She had a big hand in Florida State's sweep over Georgia in last weekend's NCAA Tallahassee super regional as she had three hits and drove in three runs in those two games.
"You can see her going now," Florida State Coach Lonni Alemeda said. "She's getting after it. She doesn't miss a day in the [batting] cages. She knows how to mentally and physically prepare herself, and it's really been fun to see."
Wacaser signed with Florida State in November 2019, but she had to wait a little longer than normal before she could contribute. She suffered a knee injury in her first practice at Florida State, and it eventually led to surgery and caused her to miss the entire season.
In her senior season at Bentonville West in 2020 -- one in which few would pitch to her before everything abruptly ended because of the coronavirus -- and Wacaser had gone almost two years without seeing any significant live pitching when she made her Seminoles debut last spring. She then struggled, hitting only .167 with 1 home run and 8 RBI in 46 games.
"When you get into college, the pitching gets better and the velocity gets more," Alemeda said. "There's a lot of things she had to make adjustments to. There is initial growing, whether you're injured or not, and if you get injured there is that trust your knee can do those things again."
Things then started going in Wacaser's direction after she participated in a summer league in Florida. Alemeda said she noticed something different with the way Wacaser ran down balls in the outfield during practice, both in the right-center field gap and down the line.
She had a single and a double and scored Florida State's first run of the season during a doubleheader against Lipscomb and later built a six-game hitting streak. The highlight of her season came in an April 29 game against Notre Dame as she went 3 for 3 with 2 home runs and a double and drove in 6 runs.
She was only the second Florida State player to have six RBI in a game since 2018, and she earned Player of the Week honors from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
"I think I knew what I could do before my injury," Wacaser said. "That first year, I was waiting for that feeling to come back. But after regionals, I went home and hit with my hitting coach, then I played in the summer and got some games in, which was good. I just tried to stay consistent and get as many at-bats as I could, and that paid off.
"I think the first time I knew things would be different was when we played at Clearwater. It's a big tournament with some of the best teams in the country, and I had some success there. As the season went on, I continued hitting and being consistent, and when we played Notre Dame, that's when I felt like myself. I was hitting the ball well and doing what I can do."
Even though Alemeda said she likes what she's seen from Wacaser this spring, she thinks there's even more to come over the next two years.
"There's definitely more in her, and we're going to keep pushing those levels," Alemeda said. "Some of the things challenging her is rest. She's worked really hard in getting her weights up, like she's wanting to be a stronger player.
"The weight room's going to be big for her and arm action is going to be big for her. We'll probably get really into sitting pitches in this next round with her and her ability to sit pitches and do what she wants to do in the at-bat."
Former Bentonville West softball standout Hallie Wacaser hopes to help Florida State win its first Women's College World Series championship since 2017. The third-seeded Seminoles will play No. 6 seed Oklahoma State in a first-round game at 6 p.m. today at Oklahoma City. (Photo courtesy of Florida State University)
Former Bentonville West softball standout Hallie Wacaser hopes to help Florida State win its first Women's College World Series championship since 2017. The third-seeded Seminoles will play No. 6 seed Oklahoma State in a first-round game at 6 p.m. today at Oklahoma City. (Photo courtesy of Florida State University)
Former Bentonville West softball standout Hallie Wacaser hopes to help Florida State win its first Women's College World Series championship since 2017. The third-seeded Seminoles will play No. 6 seed Oklahoma State in a first-round game at 6 p.m. today at Oklahoma City. (Photo courtesy of Florida State University)