WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Westfield State University softball senior third baseman Madison "Maddy" Atkocaitis stands out on a softball field.

Whether it's at the plate, where her carefully honed swing has powered her to school records for home runs and triples, in the field, where she patrols the hot corner and charges the ball on bunt plays with aplomb, or in the dugout where she's commonly the one leading the cheers when her team is at bat, the Westfield native has had a dynamic impact on the Owls' softball program which won just 11 games her freshman year.

She leads the team this season with a .410 batting average, seven doubles, six triples and two home runs as of press time.

The Owls won 19 games and advanced to conference championship game a year ago, and with just a couple weeks left in the season still has one lofty goal ahead of her.

"Win a MASCAC title," said Atkocaitis. "That would be amazing. I just want a banner. We need to fight for it. I want to go out with a bang and leave our name here."

"She has the greatest attitude in the moment that's she's going to give 100 percent, and usually her 100 percent is better than everyone else's," said Westfield State coach Colleen Bannister. "I want her at the plate with the bat in her hands in the toughest situations. And as a human being they can't be any better. She has been one of the biggest reasons we have turned the team around. She's happy about playing."

Atkocaitis' journey through softball has led to development both on the field and off.

"Freshman year was not so fun," said Atkocaitis. "I really was not a very social, verbal person, I was shy. I was quiet and I didn't play a lot. When I was told to hit, I hit. But with minimal playing time I ended up on the all-conference 1^st team, which was funny because I really didn't play much."

"Colleen came in my sophomore year, open arms, and she's been great, and she got the coach of the year award, turning us into a 2^nd place team."

"Colleen gives everyone a chance. My freshman year when I DH'd if I didn't get a hit I'd be yanked out of the lineup like that," Atkocaitis added with a snap of the fingers for emphasis. Now I can go 0-6 and know I'm not going to get yanked out of the lineup. She gives you an opportunity, and I couldn't be more thankful for that because I have succeeded ever since."

"I knew that she had a rough freshman year," said Bannister. "I talked the returnees over the summer, and she was local so we made a face to face connection. She was questioning whether she wanted to play. I went to visit her at work, I looked her straight in the eyes and just asked her what she needed to be successful. From that point on she's been pretty good about communicating. She stepped right up, put her foot on the gas and hasn't let up yet."

Atkocaitis hit .434 as a sophomore, set school records with seven home runs and eight triples as a junior, will graduate as the Owls all-time leader in home runs, triples, and has a chance to set the RBI and doubles records as well.

Atkocaitis hits with a swing that looks more like a Major League baseball player than a typical softball player.

"That is an accurate statement," laughed Atkocaitis. "From the day I could grip a bat, I had one in my hands. Wiffle ball in my grandparents' yard, hitting tennis balls across the street, and there was always positive reinforcement. I started with T-ball, then softball, then from 8-12 I played baseball, learned the proper mechanics. Except to this day I don't know how to bunt. I've always been 'Maddy, see the ball hit the ball'."

Part of Maddy's tutelage as a hitter came under the guidance of her father, Rob, who played baseball at the D2 level in college.

"Her stride is large, but contact and the thrust of your hip have to happen at the same time, and there is no one who does that better than Maddy, and that's how she gets her power," said Bannister. "It comes naturally to her - I know she works really hard, and there are thousands of hours of practice behind that - but I believe her natural athletic ability is to understand if she pops up in one at bat, what she needs to do to correct it."

"Her swing has actually slowed down since she's been here a little, but she's using her legs better to generate power," said Bannister.

Atkocaitis developed her swing at a young age - she played Little League baseball in Westfield and was a member of a 12-year old All-Star team that finished fourth in the state - as the only girl participating in the entire tournament, by her account.

"My mom told me when she would go to the field to watch me play, and they would ask what her son's name was , she'd say 'well actually my daughter's name is' . . .. and everyone would light up. 'You're Madison's mom!' It was fun."

"Baseball was the development of my swing. I'd see guys with their elbows high, and rock step," said Atkocaitis. "What really makes mine different - most girls keep both hands on the bat all the way through the swing - for me my top hand comes off. When you throw both your arms your body goes with it. For me it's a balance thing."

"I have been without a doubt the most stubborn player to coach," Atkocaitis added. "I will take in anything you want to say, and take it into account, and nod my head, but I know what works for me. Swings are like snowflakes, everyone is different""

"I give her enough respect that if she needs help, I'm there," said Bannister. "She went a couple games without a hit, I noticed her hands were a little higher than I had seen before, and she corrected on the tee it in a day, and started hitting again."

"She's a nerd about hitting like I am," said Bannister. "She loves the Zepp (a 3-d swing analyzer on the computer), she likes looking at the swing, knows how to manage where her hands are. And she also says, 'I'm not done hitting until there are no more balls in the bucket' and I love that."
Atkocaitis also feels she has made strides as a more outgoing individual through her interactions at Westfield and through softball.

"It's like 50-50 … softball and college in general made me discover who I am as a person and what my views are. I still won't be the person in a crowded room that starts a conversation. But now once I start talking and I won't shut up. I think it's my junior year I started verbalizing things more."

"Maddi and Michaela [LeBlanc] had a great idea to have better mechanism to combine the upperclassmen and newcomers," said Bannister. "They picked names out of a hat and it's their job to pull the underclassmen under their wing, and show them what it's like to play Westfield State softball. I have seen it work in so many ways, when there is a situation come up, or if even there is a situation about how to handle not playing."

"I am lot more social now," said Atkocaitis. Over the last two years "I was always making sure the newcomers and transfers feel welcome because I wanted to avoid how I felt my freshman year, and that makes me feel awesome. And that has been my mission since I became an upperclassman,"

As the Owls play out the final week of the season and prepare for the MASCAC tournament - it's been a rugged year for Westfield State, with the variable New England weather giving long stretches of cold and rain this spring, giving the season a bit of a disjointed feel after 10 games in Florida over the spring break week.

The Owls are now in the midst of a stretch in which they will play 14 games in nine days due to rainouts early in the year - which will give Atkocaitis plenty of at-bats as she chases several more milestones as well as a league title.

As hard as Atkocaitis hits the ball luck has been a little bit against her at times this season. She says she has hit it "Right to them. Like you're playing catch with them. Right to a person every time."

Last Friday Atkocaitis rapped a double off the wall in center field that hit the very top of the wall, probably two inches short of getting over the fence for a home run.

"She's been unlucky to say the least, hitting balls right at people, diving catches in the outfield," said Bannister. "And she's still hitting almost .500. Imagine if they all fell in - she'd be hitting .900."