FROM THE NEWS STAR

Hannah Baldwin/The News-Star

Bastrop High School's Chelsea Fagan was named All-NELA Big Schools Offensive Player of the Year.

By: Brett Hudson

The physical tools and mechanics of her game remained more or less the same, yet Bastrop softball coach Jennifer Hickman saw something drastically different in her catcher, Chelsea Fagan.

“She cared about what happened this year more than anything,” Hickman said. “Last year, it was more of a, ‘Hey, I’m just playing softball,’ kind of thing, but this year, every game meant something to her. Every play, you could tell it had an effect on her.”

Fagan credits that – and the eye-popping season that followed – to her status as a senior.

“This was my senior year, there was a possibility of me never setting foot on a softball field again,” she said. “I worked harder this year, I developed a new attitude about the game.”

Fagan’s new-and-improved attitude drove her to a .441 batting average with almost unheard of power – five doubles, two triples, 14 home runs and 58 RBIs for a slugging percentage of .941 – to earn her the All-NELA Big Schools Softball Offensive Player of the Year honors.

“Chelsea has always had the physical part of the game, but she lacked the mental parts of the game; this year, she turned her mental aspects of the game around a whole 360,” Hickman said. “She was tougher mentally. Putting her mental and physical toughness helped her produce bigger numbers than she already had before.”

Fagan added, “I learned the definition of a team this year. When you’re on a team, the next person defines who you are; when they’re down, you have to pick them up because you don’t want to be down. If they’re happy and in high spirits, you’re happy and in high spirits.”

Fagan was part of a sizable senior class that took on the same mindset, Fagan saying the team would often go to church together or have sleepovers throughout the season.

As for Fagan’s softball career, it may not be over – Hickman said Fagan, a dedicated student is going to LSU to major in biology but has had conversations with LSU coach Beth Torino about trying out for a walk-on spot. As she goes into the tryout, she takes with her a firm grasp on the fundamentals and a growing skillset as a defensive catcher.

“I worked on the fundamentals more. I think my power came more from the fundamentals than my physical strength,” Fagan said.

Hickman added, “When I first got here, she wasn’t a catcher at all, but I didn’t have a catcher and I made her a catcher her sophomore year. She was a standout person back there, she changed the game for us behind the plate.”