Oak Harbor's Adkins' swing isn't a thing of beauty, but the results speak for themselves

Oak Harbor senior shortstop Reese Adkins considered asking teammates for a few personalized hitting tips.

"You can ask, but there are too many things to point out," Rockets pitcher Alyse Sorg told her. "You hit good anyway, why stop now."

Adkins doesn't sit back, she's upright in her stance and she's prone to flying open with her front shoulder.

"There are so many things, I don't know," she said. "I know I don't have the prettiest swing, people tell me all the time. It doesn't matter, it works."

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She's undergone a complete metamorphosis as a hitter since occupying a flex role on defense as a freshman.

"Repetition," she said. "That muscle memory hitting and hitting over and over until you can't anymore. I didn't want to be a flex my whole career. I wanted to hit. I worked on grips and hips and angles and tilts and sitting back.

"I found what worked. I focused on line drives and ground balls. Almost every day, I'm hitting. I'm well prepared."

Adkins hit one home run in a victory over Maumee and dumped a double off the top of the wall in her next at-bat. She's also become a softball student.

"My knowledge has become advanced, I have a good understanding because coach (Chris) Rawski and coach (Cami) Haas taught me so much in every circumstance. That knowledge helps the freshmen."

Adkins had four hits, drove in two runs and scored once in a 6-1 victory over Defiance Tinora for a district crown in Division III.

"I was trying to take the ball where it was pitched," she said. "Put it in play and move runners. I was trying to get on base. Pitch by pitch. In a game, I'm relaxed. I just want to put the ball in play. It's very simple. I don't overthink."

Hit the ball.

"In my head, over and over," she said. "I can see my mom and dad in the stands or T-ball, 'Hit the ball. Drive the ball.' In the game, I don't hear it. After the game people tell me about the chirping. Cami preaches hitting.

"We win and we lose as a team. In my head, I want to impress my parents and coaches and make them proud."

Adkins started at third base as a freshman and shifted to shortstop after sophomore season began. She will continue her softball career at Cuyahoga Community College.

"I'm excited about new girls I'll be playing with," she said. "Next level thing. I wasn't sure I wanted to play but when the opportunity came it was a perfect fit. Two-year school. Everything fell into place."

Adkins, Sorg and Porter Gregory still get a text from Rawski before each game. He and mom Hope Adkins have been key influences for Adkins.

"My mom always asks me what I can fix?" she said. "'You're flying out, can you fix something?'"

She appreciates that everything feels like a family.

"The camaraderie and the bond we have," she said. "We're all the others' No. 1 fan and best friend. We get along and we pick each other up. Nobody takes it too serious and everyone has a great attitude. It's not a one-person team.

"It's nine girls, plus the coaches and all the kids in the dugout are just as important. Our support system makes us so strong and unstoppable. It's not one person that drives this team. Each person's role is so strong there's no one that can stop us."

Sorg allowed three hits and one run against Tinora.

"If she gets down, she finds the strike zone," Adkins said. "She's really good at hitting spots. She never fails to amaze me. She's confident, but humble."

Oak Harbor's success starts with hitting for many years. Nothing changed as the Rockets entered the Northern Buckeye Conference with an outright championship.

"Leaving (the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division) didn't mean we weren't good enough for that conference, it just meant the move was best for us," Adkins said. "We're respectable. We did show people who we were.

"Every article you see, 'They can hit, and they can hit everything.' We're an offensive team, but our defense is not one to sleep on."

Oak Harbor lost to Tinora in a district semifinal last season. It advanced to a state semifinal the previous year.

"Finding out it was Tinora we played was bittersweet," Adkins said. "They knocked us out, so that gave us a drive. Their coach said hopefully this year won't be as exciting. Four runs in the first inning gave us a strong start to keep us going loose, not so uptight."

Haas tells the girls to take one game at a time, but do whatever it takes to win each game.

"Focus," Adkins said. "One pitch. One play. One inning. One game. There's no looking ahead, you're not promised a next game. You have to be present where you are."

Oak Harbor plays Margaretta in a regional semifinal at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Findlay.

"We're looking game by game; we play Margaretta, that's all we're focused on," Adkins said. "It's a long road, but we're here to stay. I really want to go back (to state). It was like an out of body thing. The entire community, win or lose, they were there for you.

"We had a day of school canceled because so many people were going to come. We're supported by the best people and the best community."

mhorn@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Oak Harbor's Adkins' swing isn't a thing of beauty, but the results speak for themselves