During the Terrapin softball team’s 10-game homestand in late March and early April, infielder Alex Schultz had an extra roommate.
It wasn’t a teammate or a friend who crashed on the pull-out couch for three weeks at Schultz’s College Park house.
It was Shawn Schultz. Her mother.
“She’s been coming to all the games,” Alex Schultz said. “She drives her 1996 Toyota Celica that has 200,000 miles on it. She’s living exactly how she wanted to, and she’s loving every minute of it. … She was up here with me staying with me and then she’s in North Carolina staying with my grandma and some friends for the next two weekends.”
Since Schultz’s grandfather died in January, her mother has embarked on what she calls her “early retirement,” splitting time between her grandmother’s house in Ocean Springs, Miss., and wherever the Terps take her.
Schultz is having the best year of her career as a senior, doing her part to make the most of her mother’s road trip.
Had the trip come in the three previous years, it might not have been nearly as pleasant. But that doesn’t mean Schultz hasn’t learned from those seasons.
“A lot of confidence,” Schultz said, “comes from just remembering where you’ve been.”
The transition from a two-time Colorado state champion at Pueblo West High School to a self-proclaimed “little fish in a big pond” at the collegiate level wasn’t easy for Schultz. She mixed occasional clashes with coach Laura Watten’s staff with a .203 batting average.
There were plenty of low points for Schultz. But even when she felt like quitting, Schultz said her parents were there to keep her playing.
“My dad has probably been the biggest key as to why I’ve been continuing to play,” Schultz said. “Just because, he told me one day that he pretty much pushed me back on the plane one day and was like ‘No, you’re going, and you’re going to do this.'”
In her sophomore year, Schultz said “it was like everything clicked.” She gelled with the Terps’ coaching staff and finally felt comfortable in College Park.
Even as she struggled offensively, hitting .226 during her first three years, she became a defensive ace, playing every field position but first base.
“She’s diving all over the place, screaming and yelling, making ESPN-type plays,” Watten said before the current season’s start. “She can play any position better than anybody else.”
In her senior year, Schultz has brought her defensive prowess to third base while finding herself at the plate.
Watten can’t explain how it’s happened, but in Schultz’s senior year, she leads the Terps with a .433 average, seven home runs, 32 RBI and 35 runs scored. She’s on pace to shatter the Terps’ single-season batting average record of .408, set by infielder Amber Jackson in 2007.
Schultz has also brought a unique bravado to the Terps. Oftentimes during the season, she’s made proclamations of perceived superiority over opponents, including a recent claim that Towson was “nothing special” before the Terps faced off — and lost — against the Tigers last week.
Without her brilliant senior season, the Terps likely wouldn’t be heading into their ACC series this weekend at N.C. State with their name firmly in the NCAA Tournament discussion.
And on a team dominated by underclassmen, Schultz’s contributions as one of three seniors both on and off the field have been instrumental in the team’s quest to end its 10-year postseason drought.
“She leads the team on and off the field,” pitcher Kerry Hickey said. “She’s a special player. I can’t even pinpoint one example. It’s just an every day thing. She’s in it every day, every practice, she’s all about it.”
Although the statsheet adequately captures Schultz’s importance to the Terps, it’s her timely hits that have mattered most.
Her three-run home run gave the Terps a 5-2 win in game one of the team’s weekend series against North Carolina, and a two-RBI single helped the team take a 2-1 decision in the nightcap.
“She’s having a fabulous year,” Hickey said. “I don’t think she could ask for a better senior year. She’s really worked hard and I can’t even sum up her season in words.”
“She’s the one you want the ball to go to, and who you want at the plate when it’s a clutch situation,” pitcher Kendra Knight said. “She’s having a great year.”
Even in the midst of the best year of her career, Schultz and the Terps won’t be happy until they see their name in an NCAA Softball Championship regional.
More poignantly, Schultz wants to reach the postseason not only for the team, but to repay the coach who she once clashed with but now thanks for her success.
“She’s an awesome lady. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. I’ve gone through so much with her. She’s a fantastic coach and she has a lot to give to the sport,” Schultz said. “I guess I just want to, because I know how bad she wants it, too. I just want to help the team get to where we need to be and where we can be. I just want to help her out as much as I can — give back to what she’s given me.”
For Watten, the opportunity to see one of her first recruits to College Park flourish in her senior year has been just as welcome.
But it doesn’t come as a surprise.
“When I saw her, recruited her and watched her play travel ball,” Watten said, “I knew it was in her.”
schneider@umdbk.com
