Softball is a team game, and everyone on the Elon University softball team has made contributions to the team’s success. But three players — sophomore Emily Cameron, senior Carleigh Nester and freshman Alaina Hall — have shouldered the large majority of the offensive load.
Elon’s “Big Three” have scored 90 of the team’s 193 runs and contributed 75 of Elon’s 183 RBIs.
To see just how much these three are relied upon to generate offense, look no further than the gap between Nester — who has the lowest batting average of the three at .306 — and the team’s role players, the best of whom is hitting .245.
“They bring so much to the table,” Elon head coach Kathy Bocock said. “Other teams know about them and their impact on our offense and they focus on them, which gives the other young ladies a chance to step up.”
Hall said she feeds off Nester and Cameron’s success because it motivates her to up her game to match their performance.
“They motivate me to be better every day,” Hall said. “When they get a hit, I want to get a hit. It’s just the way I am. I’m a competitor. I want to be the best, and playing with Carleigh and [Cameron] will help me get there.”
Individually, Hall has been enormously productive for a player in her first year at the collegiate level. She has the team’s highest batting average at .354 and has 51 hits on the season. She’s also driven in 13 runs and has three home runs under her belt.
Her production, Nester said, has been anything but surprising given the poise and maturity she’s shown as a true freshman.
“She picks up on things that other people don’t, things that other people miss,” Nester said. “She’s so dedicated to her game and to improving that she was bound to have success right away.”
Cameron is hitting .320, has seven home runs and 23 RBIs. She leads the team with an on-base percentage of .406, and is second on the team with a .516 slugging percentage.
Her bat, Hall said, is vital to the Elon’s lineup, because she brings run-producing power bat to the middle of the order.
“If she’s on, if she’s hitting well, then there aren’t too many hitters who can match her production,” Hall said. “She’s capable of carrying our offense by herself if she has to.”
Nester, the only upperclassman of the three, is hitting .306, is second on the team in hits with 44 and leads the team with 13 home runs and a slugging percentage of .660.
Hall said Nester always “comes through in the clutch.”
“Carleigh’s our leader,” Hall said. “She’s who we turn to for the big hit in the big moment with the game on the line because she always delivers the hit we need. It makes the rest of us want to match her success and be able to deliver if we ever are up in that situation.”
With the Southern Conference tournament looming, the Phoenix expects its big hitters to continue being catalysts of an offense that struggles without their consistent production.
If Hall, Cameron and Nester are able to stay hot and lead the team on a late-season run, the Phoenix could find the momentum necessary to make a late push for a bid to the NCAA tournament.