‘I let go’: How Lauren Mills busted slump to help Wichita State softball win AAC crown
A senior-year slump had plagued Lauren Mills for the past month when she stepped up to the plate for her final at-bat on Sunday.
In a tie game in the sixth inning, with the Wichita State softball team needing a win to clinch the outright conference championship, the fifth-year slugger from Topeka had the chance for another timely hit in a career full of them.
“No thoughts, just let it happen,” Mills said of her mindset. “This weekend, I was trying to make things happen. Finally when I let go, it just happened.”
Mills unleashed four weeks’ worth of frustration on a frozen rope to center field to drive in the game-winning run in the top of the sixth of Wichita State’s 2-1 win at Tulsa on Sunday afternoon.
It was fitting for a senior to be the one to put the finishing touches on the Shockers’ (43-8, 16-2 AAC) second outright American Athletic Conference championship in the past three years.
“I definitely have struggled, but I know my teammates have got my back always,” Mills said. “If I didn’t have my teammates, I don’t know what I would do. I know if I struggle or if I fail, I’ll be backed up by the person behind me and I’ll get so much love in the dugout. I love them so much.”
For the first six weeks of the season, Mills was crushing more than she ever had in her career: She was batting .455 with nine home runs and 34 RBIs in the first 89 at-bats this season.
But Mills has been stuck in a rut ever since the calendar flipped over to April. Before Sunday’s game-winning hit, Mills was hitting .204 with no home runs and seven RBIs in her previous 49 at-bats spread out over 17 games.
“She’s really been struggling, to be honest with you,” WSU head coach Kristi Bredbenner said. “Just totally getting in her head and didn’t have a ton of confidence and was really thinking too much.”
When she stopped overanalyzing things, Mills experienced a breakthrough — and just in time to help the Shockers avoid a loss that likely would have sunk their chances at an outright league title and to host an NCAA Regional.
While Tulsa was constantly threatening (stranding 12 runners) in the first five innings on Sunday, the Shockers were without a hit. That changed in the top of the sixth when Sydney McKinney and Addison Barnard reached on back-to-back bunt singles down the third-base line.
With strong winds blowing in and Tulsa ace Maura Moore dealing, Bredbenner had preached to her hitters to flatten their swings and try for line drives instead of their typical power swings. Lauren Lucas executed just that, driving a ball hard back to center field to plate McKinney and tie the game.
Two batters later, Mills followed with a near-replica line drive back to center field to bring home the winning run.
“Hopefully that gets her back on track,” Bredbenner said. “That’s the Lolo that we all know. She was just trying too hard. I’m really proud of her for digging in and having a great at-bat and coming away with a big hit like that.”
This story was originally published May 1, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
.jpg)