Good offense and an improved defense have been the catalysts for South Dakota's best start since 2009. Right at the heart of that formula is two-time first-team all-Summit performer Camille Fowler, the center fielder and leadoff hitter for the 11-4 Coyotes.
 
Fowler has started all 124 games since arriving on campus from Omaha, Nebraska, three years ago. She is the Summit's leading scorer thru three weeks and her on-base percentage of .421 is a career best.
 
Asked what's changed from a team standpoint since last year, though, and it's not the offensive numbers she mentions.
 
"We have a really good defense," said Fowler. "We are turning what would be hits into outs. We have more speed in the outfield and our infielders have more range. The balls that found the outfield grass a year ago are outs. And that changes the momentum of games. If we just got three up, three down, it quickly turns into our turn to score some runs."
 
And the runs have come. USD ranks 25^th nationally in scoring at 6.6 runs per game (out of 289 teams) and the Coyotes' average of .333 ranks 18^th.
 
One of coach Robert Wagner's changes this season was moving Fowler back to the top of the order where she was her freshman year two years ago. Last year, Alyssa Fernandez hit leadoff and Fowler was second.
 
"Alyssa is such a good hitter, that so long as I can get on base, she can move me around," said Fowler. "Last year, I would slap or bunt her to second and then the power hitters would move her. But if I can get on with a hit or a walk, she can move me all the way to third."
 
Fowler is a career .327 hitter who gets on base 40 percent of the time, but even she is trying to be more dynamic. A true slapper since she switched batter's box in middle school, Fowler has been working on a different approach.
 
"I have more confidence in myself since when I started here, and I'm getting more comfortable in swinging away more," said Fowler. "I worked on it a little bit between my freshman and sophomore years, but I didn't do it a lot in games. But now, I hit away in practices because if I don't do it, I know I won't be comfortable at it. The goal is I can hit it over their heads, slap or bunt and the defense will have a tougher time knowing how to play me."


 
On Friday, South Dakota kicks off its Spring Break trip with five games at a tournament hosted by Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. The Coyotes will play 14 games in 10 days on their trip, which also includes stops in California before returning to Arizona. The slate includes big names in Utah, Iowa State, James Madison, Michigan and Arizona State. Eight of the 14 games will be against teams that finished in the top 100 of the RPI a year ago. In other words, this is the toughest part of USD's 56-game slate.
 
"Wagner shared those points with us at practice yesterday," said Fowler. "That's a lot of softball and physically, I think we're going to be fine. The challenge for us is to stay up and positive throughout the trip, because it will be tough mentally to go through a stretch like this.
 
"We've learned to work together, we are friends on and off the field, and we are having fun, and I think that remains the key for our success. We want to win for each other and for our teammates."
 
Beyond softball
Fowler is one of eight USD softball players who turned in a perfect 4.0 grade point average this past fall semester. She is majoring in health sciences and is prepping for the nursing program. She was accepted into the program a year ago, but deferred until next year so that the nursing-softball crossover will be limited to one season instead of two.
 
Many 18-year-olds aren't sure what they want to study before they go to college, but Fowler did.
 
"My aunt was diagnosed with leukemia and we would go to the hospital and visit her, and I think just seeing the nurses' impact on their patients totally changed their mood. People can be put in a horrible situation, but being able to positively have an impact on a person – that's what I want to do. That's how I knew what I wanted to study."
 
Fowler is one of four nursing majors on the team. She said having good time management is the key to keeping up with studies throughout a softball season filled with travel.
 
"I didn't want to change what I wanted to study for softball," said Fowler. "When I came on my visit, I talked with coach (Amy) Klyse and also with (alumna) Morgan Hancock, another nursing major, and they reassured me I could do it. When I'm on the road, I know I have to do homework and study, because if I don't I know I will fall behind."
 
Spring Break should help in that department, for Fowler and all of her teammates. The Coyotes' first games are Friday at 2 p.m. (MT) against Northern Colorado and at 6:30 p.m. (MT) against host Grand Canyon.
 
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