North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 38, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 26, 2008 Page: 4 of 6
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Page 4 Wednesday. March 26. 2008
m
o
Sports
I ichardC.White
Sports Editor
richieatUNT@hotmail.com
March madness
The Sports staff makes their Final
Four predictions tomorrow.
First baseman recalls long five-year career
By Sean Brown
Intern
Clichés in sports like "She
brought her A-game," "She
overcame adversity" and
"She gave 110 percent," are a
dime a dozen, but senior first
baseman Heather Bostic really
does exceed those expecta-
tions.
"She's really motivational.
She's not one of those kids
who gets down when things
get rough," head coach TJ
Hubbard. "She gets in there
and works hard for a base
hit."
When some of her team-
mates were running around
the playpen in diapers, Bostic
was beginning to pick up a
bat.
When Bostic was batting
.274 during her freshman year
at NT, this year's freshmen
were trying to make the high
school softball squad.
When they were graduating
from high school, Bostic was
graduating with a bachelor's
degree in sociology.
After five years on the Mean
Green softball team, Bostic is
a seasoned veteran. She's the
only player on NT's roster who
remains from the program's
inaugural 2004 season.
The Mustang, Okla., native
lettered every year in high
school and saw a great deal
of summer playing time with
the Oklahoma Rebels Gold
team.
"High school softball really
wasn't that important to
me. What really defined my
career was my summer ball,"
Bostic said. "It was way more
competitive and my coaches
gave us way more opportuni-
ties to win and play."
With as much experience as
Bostic tallied prior to college,
she took a risk and committed
to a fledgling Mean Green
program.
She had never heard of NT,
but riding the pine was not
what Bostic had in mind.
"I like to play and I love
to win," Bostic said. "But
the chance to play was more
important to me. I would have
to sit out a few years at any
other school."
Bostic started in NT's debut
season at first base where she
registered three of NT's four
career-fielding records.
In that opening season, the
Mean Green played a total of
79 games with Bostic starting
77 of them.
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Although NT violated the
NCAA maximum for number
of games played, Bostic was
grateful for the opportunity
to play teams from coast-
to-coast of all skill levels,
including nine ranked oppo-
nents.
"We played so many games,
those girls were literally my
family," Bostic said. "If I could
never play ball after that year
again, I would have still expe-
rienced more than people who
play for four or five years."
Through the 2006 season,
Bostic competed in 171 games,
the fourth highest in Mean
Green history.
As a junior, she easily set
herself above her teammates
defensively as she led the
program with a .987 fielding
percentage, recording 1,150
putouts on 1,225 chances.
Going into her senior year
with an outstanding offseason,
Bostic was looking forward to
a strong finish as one of the
best defensive players in the
program's young history.
But 16 years of swinging
the lumber, putting the glove
in the dirt and doing what
she loved had placed a heavy
burden on then 21-year-old
Bostic.
She herniated two discs
in her back and was recom-
mended to sit out on what
would be her final season.
"It broke my heart. I felt like
I was letting everyone down,"
Bostic said. "I was in so much
pain that even if I did play
I would have never made it
gZ
-
- . -
A
Photo by Whitney Buster / Intern
Mustang. Okla., graduate student Heather Bostic has been on the NT softball team since its start in 2004.
through conference play."
Her exhausted back gave
out, and Bostic took a medical
hardship waiver, allowing for
her return in 2008.
During her missed season,
rehabilitation was a priority
after surgery, but so was
finishing her bachelor's degree
in sociology last May.
As someone who "doesn't
like school a lot," Bostic
was named to the Sun Belt
Commissioner's List and the
NT President's List in her final
year of undergraduate work.
Soon she found herself
enrolling to earn a master's
degree in kinesiology in order
to play her last season.
Returning to action, Bostic
found freshman Mallory
Cantler in her normal spot
down the first base line. With
three years of experience at
first, Bostic was naturally
able to help Cantler adjust to
college ball.
"The first thing I noticed
is that she has a lot of expe-
rience at first" base Cantler
said. "She's always been really
helpful giving me a lot of
advice and support."
Bostic hopes to turn her
softball know-how into a
coaching career after she
finishes her final season
and her master's degree this
August.
"She's a very visual type
of player," Hubbard said.
"She'll be a good coach. She
pays attention to a lot of little
things that others overlook."
Softball plays rival Mavericks in doubleheader
By Antinique Jones
Intern
The Mean Green softball
team is on the road this after-
noon playing the University of
Texas at Arlington Mavericks
with the first game of a double-
Students' open discission with
UNI President Gretchen m. Bataiiie
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Crumley living Room 10 a.m.
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Bruee Lobby 3 p.m
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header starting at 5 p.m. at Allan
Saxe Field.
NT hopes to ride its three
leading players, freshman
infielder Mallory Cantler,
freshman outfielder Mariza
Martinez and sophomore third
baseman Rebecca Waters, to a
doubleheader sweep of its local
rivals.
The Mean Green (15-17, 6-3)
is focused on several precise
things the team wants to accom-
plish against the Mavericks
(11-13, 8-7).
"Hopefully we can get a lot of
scoring," head coach TJ Hubbard
said. "I hope we just keep our
offense like it has been and get
a lot of runs on the board."
Cantler has a .375 batting
average and ten doubles, while
Martinez's batting average is
.352 and Waters' is .345. Both
Martinez and Waters have six
home runs.
Martinez said she believes
the team continues to improve
with every practice.
"We are doing well. Our prac-
tice is really showing through
the games," Martinez said. "We
are just trying to fix things at
H
Photo by Kyle Phillips / Staff photographer
Purcell, Okla., junior Sarah Jones bunts the ball and advances the runners on base
during her at bat on Wednesday against UTSA.
practice; so far we are doing
that."
This season the Mavericks'
leading hitter is sophomore first
baseman Cara Hulme, who has a
.382 batting average. Sophomore
outfielder Brittany Washington,
who has seven home runs and
four doubles, could also cause
trouble for NT.
NT has won nine of its last
11 games with the last six wins
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coming during spring break last
week.
Many of its previous tourna-
ments have prepared the Mean
Green for smaller opponents
like the Mavericks. Texas A&M
University proved to be one of
NT's toughest competitors, as
the Mean Green learned a lot in
its two losses to the nationally
ranked Aggies.
The University of Oklahoma
Sooners was another team that
NT took a lot away from in its
two losses. The Mean Green
believe now is the time it needs
to apply these lessons learned.
"The level of competi-
tion going against A&M and
Oklahoma have made the
last few weeks a little easier,"
Hubbard said.
Cantler said she believes NT's
strong spring break perfor-
mance will have a positive effect
on today's doubleheader and
beyond.
"Playing that many games at
home gave us a good record,"
Cantler said. "If we keep the
record we had over spring break
then we will be in a pretty good
shape."
It has been awhile since
NT has been on the road. The
Mean Green is 4-9 on the road
with its last away game on
March 9 ending in a 4-2 NT
victory against the University
of Louisiana-Monroe
The Mean Green has big plans
to dominate the remaining field
of Sun Belt and non-conference
teams.
"I will like to take two victo-
ries and start on our winning
record," Cantler said.
The Mavericks lost their last
game at home 4-1 to the Stephen
F. Austin University Ladyjacks
Saturday in the Southland
Conference.
The Mean Green has been
preparing to play on the road
all season. With the second half
of the season underway, the
players and coaches are sticking
to their game plan.
"We have spent the biggest
part of the season on the road,
so it's not going to be a big differ-
ence," Hubbard said. "It has
been nice to be at home."
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North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 91, No. 38, Ed. 1 Wednesday, March 26, 2008, newspaper, March 26, 2008; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145563/m1/4/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.