They are more than 11 and a half feet of sheer offensivefirepower. They also are the second-best one-two home run punch inthe Big Ten. And they are the primary reason why the Northwesternsoftball team no longer is struggling on at the plate.
They are sophomore third baseman Kristen Amegin and freshmandesignated player Garland Cooper.
The pair, who bat fourth and fifth in the Wildcats’ lineup, haveclobbered a combined 15 home runs this season.
“I don’t know if there are many other teams in the Big Ten whereyou have to think about pitching around two back-to-back peoplelike that,” NU coach Kate Drohan said.
Drohan said the only other team with a duo that compares to NU’sis Michigan, who the Cats will face in a doubleheader at noon onSunday at NU’s Sharon J. Drysdale Field.
The Wolverines’ junior shortstop Jessica Merchant is first inthe conference with 14 home runs and senior first baseman JenniferOlds is second, with nine dingers.
Amegin sits in third place in the Big Ten with eight homersafter she broke the NU single-season home-run record April 23against Indiana.
“I didn’t even have (the record) in the back of my mind,” Ameginsaid. “All I had in my mind was to just keep hitting the ball theway I was and having a good swing, and the home runs willcome.”
A power hitter her entire career, Amegin recently has expandedher game to hit for a higher average. After batting .215 lastseason, Amegin has raised her mark to .291 this season, with anon-base percentage of .457.
“She has raised her average about 35 points in the last month,and that’s done a lot for us,” coach Drohan said.
While Amegin has steadily improved her swing, Cooper hascontinued to impress the coaching staff with her hitting.
Cooper leads the team in six statistical categories on offense,including batting average, RBI and slugging percentage.
As the lineup’s designated hitter and cleanup batter, Cooper hasonly one place to make an impact on the game — on offense.
“I don’t get a chance on defense to make up for a bad at-bat, soI just have to go up there and make the best of every at-bat,” shesaid.
With Cooper’s home run against Bradley on Tuesday, she andAmegin set a record for the most home runs for two teammates in asingle season.
“We’ve never had anyone on the team with more than seven homeruns, so to have two in one year is certainly something unique atNorthwestern,” Drohan said.
But usually when two teammates are vying to break the samerecords, a friendly competition can come out of it.
Does the pair ever try to outdo each other or compete for thesame accolades?
“Absolutely not. Like not even a little bit,” Drohan said. “Idon’t want that right now, this time of year.”
Drohan said she is looking forward to the prospect of havingAmegin and Cooper in the middle of her lineup for two more yearsafter this season.
“I think the sky’s the limit with them,” she said. “They’re justgoing to get better.”
