Racking up two first-team all-state accolades and a Daily News Softball Player of the Year award her senior year at Niceville, Kelly Hensley had no trouble commanding the local spotlight as an Eagle from 2007-2010.
Three years later, Hensley has graduated to commanding the national spotlight at Florida State University.
Her unseeded crew trailing 13th-ranked South Alabama 6-2 in the top of the seventh inning of the deciding game three of Sunday’s re-gional championship in Mobile, Hensley delivered the heroics.
Even more dramatic than her game-winning base knock to lift the Eagles into the state championship three years earlier, Hensley took a chunk out of the top of the Jaguar Field scoreboard with a game-tying grand slam, a moonshot that lifted the Seminoles to extra innings where they’d score a 7-6 win.
The win has been called the “Miracle in Mobile,” and Hensley didn’t undersell the emotions of what she labeled “one of the best come-backs of all time in softball.”
“Oh my gosh, it was the craziest thing that’s ever happened in my life,” she said in a telephone interview before heading out west to Austin to take on the Longhorns of Texas. “… That game, that seventh inning … the finish was just unbelievable.”
And ever since that comeback, which was capped by a Victoria East solo shot in the eighth frame, Hensley’s heroics have drawn the at-tention of ESPN’s Sportscenter and a column by the World Wide Leader in Sport’s own Graham Hays.
But Hensley’s uphill climb back to the spotlight has been just that, a path forged through a strong learning curve.
As a freshman, Hensley had a quiet two home runs and nine RBIs in 23 starts and 35 game appearances. In 2012, Hensley’s platoon role blossomed into that of an everyday starter. Her numbers showed the uptick in playing time, as she finished the year batting .258 with one home run, 14 RBIs, 12 runs and 20 walks, fifth best on the team.
But even so she had yet to scratch the surface of her potential, the same potential South Alabama was exposed to Sunday night.
“I was overanalyzing things the first couple of years, being too analytical in my approach and playing tight,” Hensley said. “I had gotten away from the way I needed to play.”
But instead of sitting idly by Hensley sought the help of assistant coaches Craig Snider and Travis Wilson.
I have to credit coach Snider and coach Wilson, who were here last year but really changed my whole hitting philosophy,” Hensley said. “They taught me to pick a side of the plate and look for my pitch.”
Judging by her offensive numbers, which sit at or near the top of every Seminole stat, the new-found approach has paid dividends.
Recently voted on by the team to hit leadoff in the postseason, Hensley leads the Seminoles with 54 RBIs, 27 extra-base hits, a .427 on-base percentage, five hit by pitches and four sacrifice flies. Her .318 average is ranked fifth on the squad, her 35 runs third and her 13 home runs, 13 doubles, 109 total bases, .630 slugging percentage and 31 walks put her second.
“I think it was a matter of settling in a little bit,” Hensley said. “I just needed to play a little looser.”
Already an on-base machine, Hensley became even more dedicated to drawing walks.
“The big thing the coaches have instilled in us is that it’s OK to take a pitch,” Hensley said. “And it’s OK to take a strike if it’s not the pitch we’re looking for. We’ve been taught to work the count and be patient.”
The team-wide approach has helped the Seminoles’ offense hit a collective .297, average 5.6 runs per game and belt 60 home runs, far surpassing the 32 tallied last season.
And at the center of the success is Hensley, who hopes the momentum from Sunday will carry over to a best-of-three-game super regional that kicks off Friday in Austin.
“We definitely feel like we’re on a high going in,” Hensley said. “They have a great team, but we think we can beat them.”
If the Longhorns learned anything from this past weekend, they’d be wise to not to count FSU out.
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Niceville grad grabs spotlight at FSU
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