LAFAYETTE, La. — Former New Hope High School standout DJ Sanders has played softball her entire life.
Still, she keeps learning.
In her freshman season at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Sanders has stepped in and has been a big reason why the Ragin’ Cajuns are the No. 13 national seed in this weekend’s NCAA regional tournaments.
ULL (40-9) opened postseason play Friday night with an 11-0 victory against Weber State at Lamson Park. The team was scheduled to play Baylor in a winners’ bracket game at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
“My freshman year has been a learning experience,” said Sanders, who received Player of Year honors in softball and girls basketball from The Dispatch while at New Hope High. “It has been that way the whole time. Even now, I am still learning so much about the game. I have had help from a lot of teammates. They didn’t throw it all at me. They have helped me learn step by step.
“I am surprised at how much more there is to learn,” she said. “But, overall, it has been a fun year.”
‘This is completely different from high school’
ULL advanced to the Women’s College World Series in 2014. A good nucleus of players return from that team, and Sanders has meshed well with that unit. She has started all 49 games at shortstop, and is hitting .285. She has four home runs and 26 RBIs.
Sanders, outfielder Kelli Martinez, and redshirt outfielder Aleah Craighton are the team’s only freshmen in the every-day lineup.
“This is completely different from high school,” Sanders said. “They say playing college sports is like having a job. It is like that, but it is also a fun job. My freshman year has been a learning experience.”
The learning happened right way.
Like most schools, ULL had about a seven-week practice session the fall. The workouts included scrimmages against other schools.
“In the fall games, I was nervous like crazy,” Sanders said. “When the spring came around, it was like this is no big deal because I have already been playing college softball … but I admit, I was nervous. It may have been the most nervous I have ever been playing softball.
The biggest challenge for Sanders has been learning a new swing. The ULL coaches work with each incoming player to make minor tweaks with their approach at the plate.
“They break down your swing and make you do things differently,” Sanders said. “That has been difficult. You are never at a point where you are fully there, so I will always be working at this.
“In high school, I picked up a bat and swung. Here, you can’t do that,” she said. “It leads to more thinking.”
Sanders appreciates the trust and confidence shown in her by coach Michael Lotief and the assistants. That trust has been critical as she learns how to play with so many other talented players.
“It’s easy to be good in high school because you have played so much longer than your other teammates and the girls you are playing against,” Sanders said. “On this level, everybody is good. You are playing against the best of the best. My teammates here can list all of their awards. They have played in the big games, won the state championships, played in the really big travel ball tournaments.
“It can really be intimidating. Dealing with failing is something you have learn on this level. A lot of players have not been in that position before. How you handle adversity is important. Really, for a lot of us, it’s the first time to have that 0-for-4 game or something like that. How you handle adversity and how you respond is really important. It really helps define you as a player.”
Sanders chosen for Junior National Team
Adversity has been rare for ULL.
The Ragin’ Cajuns have been ranked in the top 10 the entire season and cruised to the Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship. ULL improved to 28-1 at home Friday night. ULL leads the nation in several offensive categories, including home runs (109).
“We have a lot of girls on the team, 36 to be exact,” Sanders said. “And we are all really close. When you have that many on your team, you have to be close. We like competing with each other. We call each other our sisters.”
While ULL looks to return to Oklahoma City, the site of the WCWS, the summer figures to be busy for Sanders, who has been chosen to the Junior National Team and will represent the United States at the World Cup of Softball X and the International Softball Federation Junior Women’s World Championship in August, also in Oklahoma City.
More traveling for DJ means more traveling for the rest of the family. Parents Donnie and Renee have been major influences on her, as have sisters DeShuni and Kennedi.
“Some of my family has pretty much made every home series,” DJ Sanders said. “I even had them there when we played at Oregon. Coach Lotief is a mixture of my dad and (former New Hope) coach (Tabitha) Beard. He is hard on us, but he is like a father figure. He gets you where you need to go. My teammates are like an extended family now. I love being down here.”
She likes the food, as well.
“I like spicy and everything is spicy down here,” she said. “I miss home, though. This has been an adjustment period for all of us. We are working our way through it.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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