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People SearchFind an individual who either played a sport or was a member of a support group. Search by last name by clicking on the first letter of the person's last name.
Ms. Heather Bobbitt
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Home Phone: 409-786-1374 Softball: Bobbitt Blossoms Improved pitching makes Cajuns more dangerous Bruce Brown It’s not like a light bulb suddenly clicked on over Heather Bobbitt’s head. The 2005 season has been more a matter of gradual awakening. Because of that, Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns have been steaming down the stretch run of the softball season with a genuine pitching rotation. No longer will UL coaches trot All-American Brooke Mitchell out to the pitching rubber, hoping she can handle doubleheader after doubleheader and still somehow work wonders. Now the Cajuns have viable options. They have Bobbitt, and can throw in Ashley Kirchberg for a change of pace. “It means a whole lot to me,” said Bobbitt, a sophomore pitcher with a perfect 14-0 record for the 43-8 Cajuns. “It’s an honor to be on this UL team, and it’s great when the whole team tells me to get out there, we’re behind you. “I’m so happy I can help Brooke out, so she won’t be killing herself out there. It feels really good to know that Brooke’s got the first game and it’s me next, instead of going in for just a few innings. It’s nice to have my name mentioned with the team.” As a freshman in 2004, Bobbitt posted a 5-2 record while working 69 1/3 innings, thrust into action behind Mitchell and Holly Tankersley when veteran Afton Toms quit softball early in the year. “Mentally, you need to stay prepared,” Bobbitt said. “That was true last year, especially when Brooke got hurt. And we have redshirts on the team who have to stay focused. In this ball game, there’s no telling what will happen. “And, when you’re not playing, it’s a good time to learn. Codi Runyan had to talk with Tiffany Hebert. You have to learn if you’re not in the game, before you play.” For nearly two seasons now, Bobbitt has been given a front-row seat to how an All-American pitcher conducts her business. Mitchell has been a mentor to the Vidor, Texas, product both on and off the field. “Geez, she’s just so down to earth,” Bobbitt said of Mitchell. “I wrote stuff about her already. Coach Stefni (Lotief) asks us to write about our seasons, and I wrote about Brooke. “In softball, she works so hard and she’s so tough. She’s also a woman of Christ. She shares her faith with me.” Mitchell will be one of five seniors to be honored this weekend when the Cajuns finish the regular season at home against Middle Tennessee, joined by Jill Robertson, Joy Webre, Hebert and Crystal George. Once Mitchell leaves, Bobbitt will be the UL pitcher with the most experience in 2006. “It’s very hard to say how I’ll react,” Bobbitt said of the upcoming weekend. “Last year we had just one senior. It will be very emotional. The seniors have been an inspiration for us. We’ve learned a lot from them. “But we’ve got major girls who have worked hard on this team for two or three years who are ready to go. We’ll have a good program going. ” In addition to Mitchell’s departure, part of next year’s new-look Cajuns will feature new faces at catcher in Leslie Pierce and current freshman Jessica Lemoine. “We switch out catchers. I work with Leslie in the bullpen and we get a feel for each other,” Bobbitt said. “And, I played against Jessica in high school – I was at Vidor and she was at Bridge City – and she kind of knows me, too. “Sometimes I think Jessica could be a pitcher, because she’ll show me what I need to do.” Although Bobbitt is a perfect 14-0, she had a rocky start to 2005. “It has not been easy at all, by any means,” Bobbitt said. “It’s taken a lot of hard work and sweat. There’s a guy (Robert Verdi) who works with me on pitching over the summer, and it especially helps with the number of games I’m getting. At first, it was just a couple of innings here and there. “The difference has been just a lot of tweaking. The coaches will say one simple thing, and it’s fixed. Last weekend, I couldn’t keep my curveball down, and Coach Stefni told me to plant my foot faster and that did it.” While the mechanics can sometimes be easy to fix, the mental aspect of the game can be more challenging. When the Cajuns played Nicholls State on Feb. 18 in the Louisiana Classics, the Colonels got a 5-run seventh inning off of Bobbitt, including a grand slam home run by Brandi Hahn, to forge a 6-6 tie and send the game into extra innings. Robertson eventually won the game with a two-run homer in the 10th, but Bobbitt’s outing was perilous. “It’s hard, especially when we were playing Nicholls and they had that rally,” Bobbitt said. “We still won. But it was good because I learned from it and I’ve grown from it. “Now, I don’t tense up with runners on first and second. Now I just pitch and we’re out of there.” Since the Kia Klassic, Bobbitt has sliced her earned run average roughly in half. So she’s obviously learning her craft. It also helps to have players like Robertson, Runyan, Hebert, Brittany Bryant and others playing solid defense behind UL’s pitchers. “When they hit a pop-up to Jill, I know it’s an out,” Bobbitt said. “I’ll look down and pat the hole in the circle where I plant my foot. Or, if it’s the third out, I’ll start to jog off the field. It’s very comforting. “When I see them dive and see the things they do to get the ball, I’m amazed. I say I’ll take this.” That’s fair, because the Cajuns will take the new and improved Heather Bobbitt this year. Originally published May 6, 2005
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