Hannah Day doesn’t consider herself a home-run hitter.
Her swing’s level. She hits to all fields. She’s considered more of a five-tool hitter in the Troy clubhouse – getting on base, driving in runs and stealing enough bags to keep catchers honest.
Home runs? Psh, they don’t define her approach.
“I certainly don’t look for them,” said the 2012 Crestview alumna. “I just let them happen.”
Well, amid her senior season, the catcher/right fielder has let them happen at a mighty prolific rate.
In the first 28 games this season, she belted 13 home runs. No Division I player in the country matched that output.
Of course her five-tool hitter designation still applies. Yet – calling a spade a spade – so does home-run hitter.
That was most true a week-and-a-half ago during a four-game stretch where the Trojans (21-10) defeated Florida A&M 11-2 and then put up 59 runs in a three-game sweep of Appalachian State.
Day hit .812 (13 for 16) with 20 RBIs, six home runs, three doubles and 12 runs.
Her slugging percentage? An incomprehensible 2.125.
Her on-base percentage? A video game-esque . 842.
It was the best offensive display Troy – or maybe even the Sun Belt Conference – has ever seen.
Appropriately, she was the first player in Troy history to be named both the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and the USA Softball National Player of Week. Paired with her Sun Belt Player of the Week honors, let’s just say it was a good week to be Day.
“Shock,” Day said of her response. “I was really surprised, but it’s not just a victory for me but for my team. Without them getting on base, I don’t get all the RBIs I had that weekend. I just happened to be at the plate at the right time.”
Right time? Sure, OK.
RBIs, after all, can be an overrated stat in the ever-expanding sabermetrics universe. But the three walks, two steals, sacrifice bunt and six round-trippers – compared to just one strikeout – don’t support the “right place at the right time” narrative.
Runners on base or not, Day can flat-out hit.
Of course the power production wasn’t always there.
When Day entered Crestview as a freshman, she wasn’t anything close to a home-run threat.
“Then I walked into a weight room and started working hard,” she said.
Ever since, Day’s had a beautiful relationship with the game, a pastime she learned to love from a father, Dexter, who was drafted with a seventh-round pick out of William Carey College (Miss.) in 1981 by the Cincinnati Reds.
As a senior at Crestview she hit .420 with six home runs and 30 RBIs en route to an all-state campaign.
She then found a home in Niceville, where she became NWF State’s single-season record holder in RBIs (63), batting average (.431), total bases (159) and hits (85) her sophomore year. She also crossed the plate 110 times and slugged 24 home runs and 122 RBIs during her stay as a Raider, including a team-high 16 bombs over 54 games her sophomore season.
Parlaying that success to Troy, her 57 hits, 43 RBIs, .329 batting average and .543 slugging percentage led the Trojans.
Needless to say, her résumé spoke for itself entering this season.
Yet – pun intended – this year’s been night and day.
Chalk it up to a keener eye at the plate and a focused game plan. Chalk it up to being a senior leader. Or maybe it’s just a natural progres-sion for a player yet to reach her true ceiling.
However you define it, Day’s got the home-run stroke working. And to all fields.
“I’m not a pull-hitter,” Day said. “ I like pitches that are inside, but really anything over the plate is fair game.”
Nationally, she ranks third with 48 RBIs, sixth with 13 home runs and 10th with a .871slugging percentage. Each mark leads the Sun Belt, and if the season ended today her slugging percentage would establish a new Troy single-season record by nearly 60 points. As it sits al-ready, her home run tally ranks third in school history and her RBI tally is fifth.
“The individual goals come from team goals,” she said. “We just take it one pitch at a time and try to win every at-bat.”
Recognizing that selfless team approach is Troy head coach Beth Mullins.
“Hannah is one of those special players and competitors and has worked hard to help her teammates and this program be successful,” Mullins said. “These awards are truly a great honor for both Hannah and Troy softball.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview alum Hannah Day earns National Player of the Week