Sydney McKinney needed to work on hitting the inside pitch.
So Bandits assistant coach Mike Lotief came up with some unorthodox ideas for how to ensure McKinney could get the barrel of her bat out in time to catch inside offerings from opposing pitchers in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League.
ATHLETES UNLIMITED SOFTBALL LEAGUE
It paid off in a big way on Friday night, when McKinney led the Bandits to a 6-1 win over the Volts in Sulphur, La., on World Softball Day. McKinney went 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs.
The secret? "Doohickeys."
"We had just been working on getting my barrel out, tight turns," McKinney said during an in-game interview following her solo shot in the fourth inning. " ... He's done a lot of drills with ..."
At this point, McKinney was using hand gestures to try to visually explain the types of drills she was talking about. But after that effort proved unfruitful, she just went with a single word that can be credited for a big impact on this AUSL contest.
" ... Doohickey-type things," she continued, laughing. "They're really cool. They feel weird in the moment, but they really translate for me, and the way he explains it is really good. So it's been fun to work with him ... and to finally see the breakthrough instead of a groundout to second."
The breakthrough came on a 2-1 pitch off the plate inside from Volts right-hander Payton Gottshall. McKinney deposited it over the wall in center for her first AUSL home run. Out of the No. 9 spot in the batting order, McKinney also delivered a two-run single in the second inning and hit another single in the sixth for good measure.
The third baseman even made a tremendous diving play to catch a popup in foul territory with two outs in the top of the first inning.
It was a great all-around performance from the 23-year-old out of Wichita State. And much of it can be attributed to ... doohickeys.
"I'm comin' to figure out what those things are that y'all are working on," said in-game reporter Savanna Collins at the end of the interview. "We'll have more on that soon."
Stay tuned.
Blaze vs. Talons -- postponed due to weather
With inclement weather in Chattanooga, Tenn., Friday's scheduled game between the Blaze and the Talons was postponed and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday. Game 1 will begin at 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT, with Game 2 to follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.