Bright spot in defeat

Lead-off hitter Mathis feels comfortable, provides upside in Dukes’ 10-2 loss at U.Va.

By SAVANNAH REGER

The Breeze

There was no hesitation in freshman second baseman KK Mathis’ eyes. No doubt, no fear. No looking away toward the outfield while answering her questions postgame about the 10-2 loss at U.Va. on Tuesday. She locked eyes and said what needed to be said about the Dukes' performance: the Cavaliers were ready, JMU wasn’t.

“Right when we step foot on the field, right when it says ‘play ball’,” Mathis said, “it’s time to play ball. We have to win every inning from the get-go.”

The Cavaliers hit two home runs in the first two innings, one of which scored three runners, to go up 7-0. Just like against thenNo. 25 Louisiana on March 31-April 2 and in game one of JMU’s series against Georgia State on April 6, when the Dukes get behind quickly, they’ve struggled to bounce back.

Mathis took ownership of JMU’s first inning woes. She said the Dukes knew U.Va. wanted to score first. The Cavaliers stuck to their game plan and JMU got caught out of it.

Even down seven through two innings, head coach Loren LaPorte and Mathis said they were happy with the Dukes’ offensive production. U.Va. started reigning ACC Pitcher of the Week and freshman Eden Bigham, who tossed five innings. Still,

LaPorte said as the game went on the Dukes needed something, a spark, to come up with a timely hit.

LaPorte turned to her lead-off hitter: Mathis, quite literally, stepped up to the plate.

The freshman doubled in the fifth and went 2-for-3 the night. Following her double, junior outfielder Kylee Gleason also doubled, scoring Mathis and getting JMU’s first run on the board.

“I like KK being in front of me because she is a great hitter,” Gleason said. “Hitting is contagious.”

So even with the loss in the final midweek matchup of the season, Mathis said she learned how to provide that spark in the leadoff spot — a spot she’s never played in before.

“It’s the highest spot I’ve been in my whole life,” Mathis said. “Personally, I like it. It makes me more at ease.”

She said she’s at ease more in that spot because instead of coming in three or four in line and needing a hit to score, she’s the one that another batter has to score. Mathis said there’s pressure no matter where you hit but since her first start at lead-off in the second game of the Troy series, she’s felt relaxed.

“Learning how to not play with that pressure on you is very, very hard,” Mathis said. “Once you find it and stay in that groove, you got to stay there. I’m finally getting in my groove a little bit so I’m playing at ease.”

LaPorte said she’s noticed through three games that Mathis has liked the spot. The head coach said that’s because of Mathis' natural leadership ability — she’s constantly talking and telling everybody what she’s seeing on the field. Being the player that sees the pitcher first and adapts quickly for the rest of the lineup is a “natural” spot for her to be in.

“You got to set the tone,” LaPorte said. “I like her there and I think she’s doing a great job of handling it as a freshman.”

Because Mathis is scoring instead of scoring others in her new spot, her mentality hasn’t changed but rather has adjusted. She said now it’s about finding any way to get on base so that when hitters follow her, someone’s there, waiting to score.

As a result, she said she’s producing more walks.

“I’m seeing more pitches to let my teammates have more of a look at them,”

Mathis said. “They have more of an idea of what they’re getting into. So any way we can find production, we’re doing it.”

JMU heads to Huntington, West Virginia, for a three-game series with Marshall starting Friday. The Thundering Herd enter the series off a loss to No. 13 Alabama and only trail Louisiana in the Sun Belt standings with three weeks remaining.

To see success this weekend, Mathis said the team needs to keep fighting. It needs to keep finding a way on base and make adjustments quickly.

“[U.Va.] was ready to jump on us from the beginning,” Gleason said. “Our weakness was getting through the first inning. So if we can capitalize early like they did, we can see a different result.”

CONTACT Savannah Reger at regersj@dukes. jmu.edu. For more softball coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports.

Skates to Cleats

Players used youth hockey

By KAIDEN BRIDGES The Breeze

JMU lacrosse freshman attacker Maddie Epke first wore ice skates a month after she learned to walk. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Kat Buchanan started on skates when she was about 2 years old, picking up her first hockey stick when she was 3. Redshirt sophomore attacker Olivia Mattis joined her first ice hockey team when she was 5.

All three said the skills they grew up learning while playing hockey benefitted them as they now play lacrosse for the No. 4 team in the nation.

“I’d credit most of my athletic ability to hockey,” Buchanan said.

Mattis said, growing up in Minnesota, ice hockey surrounded her life from a young age. She said her dad, Matthew Mattis, can be credited for her early start in hockey, as he threw her into the sport as soon as she was able.

Like Mattis, Epke’s father, Thomas Epke, was a big influence on her ice hockey career as one of her coaches.

Buchanan said her hockey career started with small league games until she transferred into bigger, more travel-style hockey teams, where she played with the boys’ teams until she was about 14 years old. She then transitioned to her high school’s ice hockey team as well as her club team, the Massachusetts Spitfires.

Now playing lacrosse, Mattis said much of the technique she’s developed is rooted from her years on the ice.

“I would say that the stick work in hockey has helped me a lot with being able to do some things, like cradling low and shooting low,” Mattis said. “A lot of other people don’t really know how to do that just because in hockey everything is on the ground, when in lacrosse, you don’t really see a lot of that. My cradling and unique stick work is very much from hockey.”

During her hockey career, Buchanan was actually a forward, not a goalkeeper. In her switch in both sports and positions, she said one of the biggest differences she saw was through visual points and focus.

Buchanan said her jump from a hockey forward to a lacrosse goalkeeper was stemmed from the amount of running in lacrosse.

“I don’t like long running, skating is so different,” Buchanan laughed. “Whenever I run now I get laughed at because of my skating form. I kind of ‘glide’ when I run, I don’t look fast. I push off in a way that I would if I had skates on, so I just think it’s better off if I didn’t have to run.”

Buchanan said ice hockey is beneficial for lateral and quick movements accompanied by short bursts, and for her specifically as a goalie, her time on the ice has helped her be explosive and step up to the ball when needed.

Epke played as a lacrosse midfielder throughout her high school and travel career but has moved into the attacking position for JMU. She said the shift in positions has helped her see how the two sports go hand-in-hand, while still noticing the bigger differences within the two sports, specifically the speed of play and heavier ball-and-stick control that’s needed in lacrosse.

“In lacrosse, the ball actually sits in your stick, while in hockey, someone could literally poke the puck away from you, so it’s a lot different,” Epke said. “But then the rest, I think, is very similar. Hockey is a game of keeping your head up, making good passes and I would say lacrosse is the same.”

But aside from differences, Epke highlighted how the mentality and visions of both sports are the same.

“It’s all about taking chances on yourself,” Epke said. “It’s about keeping your head up and being able to see the best option on the field.”

Despite no longer playing ice hockey, all three said they still enjoy the sport and have found it holding a place in their lives.

Mattis said she grew up not only as a Minnesota Wild fan but also a Chicago Blackhawks supporter.

“When I was 13 years old, I got to redo my room. I did it with a Blackhawks theme,” Mattis said. “I got a whole bunch of Fat Heads to put on my wall and even got a Chicago Blackhawks rug.”

Buchanan, living in Massachusetts, said she’s always been a Boston Bruins fan, and is hopeful this year for a playoff run. She said their record this year after being projected as one of the worst teams in the NHL has been fun to watch and feels like it resonates with JMU lacrosse, as it recently won the American Athletic Conference (AAC) champions in their inaugural season in the conference.

“It’s really interesting and cool to see a group of guys that weren’t necessarily supposed to be great come together and just prove everybody wrong,” Buchanan said. “It kind of reminds me of what we have going on here on the lacrosse team. It’s cool to see and it’s emotional.”

CONTACT Kaiden Bridges at breezesports@gmail.com. For more lacrosse coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter at @TheBreezeSports.

Evan Weaver breezeopinion@gmail.com EDITOR EMAIL @Breeze_Opinion