Lead off hitter adding spark at the plate
3/22/2012 4:14:00 PM | Softball
Sam Houston takes on Central Arkansas in Conway in another Southland two-game series.
One of the Bearkats' top weapons coming into the contests is leadoff hitter Kim Damian who plays first base for the 2012 softball team.
Damian is the team's second leading hitter with a .364 average. She has produced seven multiple hit game performances this season and posted the second longest hitting streak of the year (five games).
"Kim is having a great year," Brock said. "I made a change in putting her at lead-off and she really took off."
Damian went 3-for-4 in a pair of games at the University of Houston, picked up four hits in the Bearkats' series against nationally ranked Texas and was 2-for-3 at the plate in victories last week over Nicholls and Liberty.
"I basically came up with a different approach and try to get ahead in the count," Damian said. "With coach Brock switching me to bat first, I get a better selection on pitching compared to when I was batting third."
The junior from Angleton, started playing softball since she was five years old. In middle school she also played volleyball and basketball
"Playing volleyball and basketball kept me in shape," Damian said. "Especially with basketball, there's a lot of running and it helped when it came to softball."
Though those sports helped, softball was her main sport and she pursued full time when she entered Angleton High School.
During that time, Angleton won the district championship in 2006. She improved tremendously as she was a Brazoria County and District MVP after leading them to a Texas 4A state runner-up finish another district championship and was named to the first team All-State and All-District in 2009.
She also played for club teams, the Texas Connection and Texas Sting. After graduation, she signed with Sam Houston State.
"I always thought of coming to Sam Houston State, mainly because it was closer to home," Damian said.
In her first year, she had a batting average of .195 with two home runs and 6 RBIs and had a total of 17 hits. She improved in her sophomore year with a .347 batting average, with 3 home runs and 24 RBIs. She totaled 43 hits during that season. Defensively, she was error-free at first base with 331 putouts and eight assists in 339 chances.
Though she has been successful during her softball career, she always know that she her biggest fans will always be her parents.
"I owe a lot to them because they were always there for me," Damian said. "They always backing me up no matter what happens in a game, whether I do good or bad. I am thankful for them being there for me."
Following the Central Arkansas series, Sam Houston State will play its first Southland Conference home series Tuesday, March 27, when the Kats play host to Stephen F. Austin at the SHSU Softball Complex. On Sunday, April 1, Sam Houston will meet Northwestern State in a make-up of a rain-out doubleheader from March 10.
