UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Wednesdav. February 19. 1997
3B
Softball team's only senior leads with hard work, skill
By Matt Woodruff
Some people say one is the loneliest number.
But for second baseman Heather Richins, the Kansas softball team's only senior, that isn't the case.
Kansan sportswriter
"It doesn't really feel like I'm the only senior," Richins said. "I don't feel like a junior, but I think that the juniors on this team will step up just as much as I will."
Kansas coach Tracy Bunge said Richins is a leader for the other players on the team, not necessarily because of her class but because of her work ethic.
"Heather is one of the hardest-working athletes that I have ever coached," Bunge said. "As a result of her hard work, I expect her to have a great senior year both offensively and defensively."
If the fall season was any indication, Richins seems ready to do just that.
Hitting in the No. 2 spot, she carried a .333 batting average and swiped a team-high five stolen bases. She also played solidly on defense, adding experience at what Bunge calls one of the most critical positions.
"We have experience and consistency up the middle with Heather at second and Michelle Hubler at shortstop." Bunge said.
Richins was named second team All-Big 12 Conference in 1996 after she started all 57 of the team's games at second and hit .382 against conference opponents.
Despite a busy schedule, she also was no slouch in the classroom, earning Academic All-Big 12 honors.
"It's hard to work when I get home, because I'm tired," she said. "Maybe from time to time I slack a little bit, but I always do enough to get the grades I think I should."
Another reflection of Richins' dedication can be seen in the weight room.
Despite never touching a weight in high school, she squats a teamhigh 245 pounds and can benchpress 120.
"When someone pushes me like the trainers do, I like to give them all I have," she said.
A native of Chico, Calif., Richins first became interested in softball through her older sister, Lori, who was an All-American at Big 12 rival Nebraska.
"I tried to set a good example for her," Lori Richins said. "I tried to stress that she needed a good education besides playing ball."
Lori Richins played against Bunge and former Kansas coach Kalum Haack, who recruited Heather Richins.
Lori Richins said she thought her sister's dedication had paid off so far.
"I think there was some pressure for her to follow in my footsteps, but she's made her own footsteps," Lori Richins said.
"She's a better ballplayer than me, and if you matched us up one-on-one, she'd be heads and tails above me."
Career Highs
.278 average, 18 runs, 23 RBI,
1 steal
1996
Second-Team All-Big 12
Academic All-Big 12
213 average, 13 runs, 8 RBI, 5 steals
1995
.312 average, 29 runs, 18 RBI,
16 steals
Academic All-Big Eight honorable mention
1994
led Big Eight with 1.0 RBI per game
sixth in Big Eight in doubles
Lettered in softball, field hockey,
basketball and track
1993 Chico High School Most Valuable Athlete
- hit 11 doubles, good enough for fifth in the Kansas record books for single-season doubles
High School
MVP and All-League in every sport she competed in as a senior
Gale Garber / KANSAN
Kansas softball senior second baseman Heather Richins was named All-Big-12 Conference, and was an Academic All-Big-12 selection in 1996. Richens also has won many other awards and honors throughout her softball careers in high school and while playing for the Jayhawks.
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