LITTLE ROCK — Bentonville third baseman Alex Sullivan seemed like an unlikely candidate to set a single-season state home run record going into this year.
Sullivan was coming off a back injury that limited her to one game last year and she entered her senior season without a home run in her high school career.
Luckily for Sullivan, she had a coach who believed in her and the drive to overcome adversity.
Now, after hitting 14 home runs and guiding Bentonville to its first state championship game berth, Sullivan will continue her career at Hendrix. Besides shattering the home run mark of 10 set by Lauren Caldwell of Fayetteville in 2007, Sullivan finished with 38 RBI, 30 runs scored and a .500 average (41 for 82) to earn Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Softball Player of theYear honors.
Bentonville lost 13-4 to Bryant in the Class 7A final May 22, but Lady Tigers Coach Kent Early wonders how far his team would’ve gone this year without Sullivan’s home runs.
“She was just a consistent power source for us,” Early said. “It’s a good credit to her and her work ethic. She’s a very deserving person.
I’m just glad it was one of my kids I had a chance to coach.”
Sullivan started a handful of games as a freshman in a senior-heavy lineup and had a solid sophomore season in her first year as a regular for the Lady Tigers in 2008, although her power stroke was still a work in progress at that point. Early first recognized Sullivan’s potential at an Oklahoma Sooners camp in June 2008.
“She was playing in a game on their main field, and she hit one on top of the leftfield bleachers,” Early said.
“That was a pretty good shot to get it up there. I thought we may have a slugger onour hands now.”
Early was right, but he had to wait nearly two years to find out. Sullivan ruptured a disc in her back a month later while playing in a summer-league game in Plano, Texas, and suddenly her career was in jeopardy.
“The worst part was when the doctor told me I’d never play softball again,” Sullivan said. “I ignored that and found people who could help meout.”
Sullivan and her family found a more encouraging second opinion, and she began the road to recovery.
“I have to set my own boundaries,” Sullivan said.
“My mom started crying, and I said, ‘Stop it because I will play softball again.’ Eventually I started running, and I just kept going from there.”
With the help of localtrainer Dustin Coon, who still works with Sullivan, she finally gained enough strength and stability to return to the Lady Tigers’ lineup last May, just in time for the playoffs. In her only game of the 2009 season, Sullivan had two hits in Bentonville’s quarterfinal loss to Conway.
This spring, Sullivan immediately embraced her new role as the Lady Tigers’ cleanup hitter. She broke the state single-season record with her 11th home run at home against Rogers Heritage on April 15.
Bentonville won the 7AWest with a 13-1 conference record, with senior second baseman Meg McGuirt (.576, 58 stolen bases) and Sullivan leading the way. The Lady Tigers finished 23-6, defeating Russellville and North Little Rock in the state tournament before losing to Bryant in the final at Bogle Park in Fayetteville.
Sullivan said the key for Bentonville was the cohesiveness of the team, which was cultivated by the seniors.
“I want to be remembered as the girl you could talk to,” she said. “I remember as a freshman, a lot of the seniors were mean. We wanted to be remembered as big sisters. We wanted to bring everyone together and make sure everyone got along.
“We got everyone united for the same goal, and it worked.”
Sullivan at a glance WHO Alex Sullivan WHAT Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Softball Player of the Year SCHOOL Bentonville YEAR Senior POSITION Third base HEIGHT 5-7 1 /2 NOTEWORTHY Broke the state singleseason record with 14 home runs this year, the first home runs of her high school career. ... Batted .500 (41 for 82) with 38 RBI and 30 runs scored, leading Bentonville to a 23-6 record and its first state final berth. ... Missed all but one game her junior year with a bulging disc in her back. ... Will play at Hendrix next season.
Sports, Pages 32 on 06/20/2010