For sophomore infielder Emma Clarke, offseason plans included tackling confidence and remembering her prowess at the plate.
Clarke came to Tennessee as a highly touted recruit out of high school, but her true freshman season did not go the way she had hoped.
“I’ve just been telling myself to trust myself and my plan and my process,” Clarke said.
The young infielder started 34 of the Lady Vols’ 64 games last season, appearing in 44 altogether. She struggled mightily at the plate, hitting just .211 while recording two home runs and just 12 RBIs, getting on base at a meager .287 clip.
The fall schedule presented Clarke with a clean slate and a new opportunity to prove herself, and she demonstrated the capabilities that made her such a highly regarded recruit. Across her last two games, she drove in eight runs and connected for five extra-base hits. Last season, she scored just two runs. In her last pair of contests, she scored seven times. Most importantly, she homered twice, including a sky-scraping two-run blast that cleared the scoreboard against Tennessee Tech.
“I kinda knew it was over when I hit it,” Clarke said.
Her focus throughout the offseason and the work with the coaching staff was less about her physical traits or mechanics, but more about the mental side of her game.
“Me and Craig Snider have worked super hard on my swing, and just getting my confidence back has been amazing,” Clarke said. “I’ve definitely seen so much growth mentally and physically, so at this point, I’m just up there swinging and trusting myself.”
Head coach Karen Weekly knew the power would come for Clarke, but the 30-year coaching veteran sees her maturity on the field as most important.
“We need to get Emma swinging all in every single time she goes,” Weekly said. “She’s not being too careful and second-guessing herself, not trying to be too perfect.”
Having lost key hitters like Sophia Nugent, Laura Mealer and McKenna Gibson, the Lady Vols will need new players to step into the lineup this spring to build on a season in which they scored 5.8 runs per game and collectively hit .302.
One of those players could be Clarke, who closed the fall strong and looked every bit like a player ready to step in and add some thump to the lineup. With her joy for the game and a newfound confidence, she seems poised to prove herself as a slugger who can add a new layer to the offense.
“I’m super excited to see what spring holds for not only me, but the rest of us,” Clarke said. “I feel like so many people have had such a good fall season, so I’m super excited.”
