Hitting machine would rather talk about team than statistics

Kasey Cooper loves talking about softball. And why shouldn't she. The Dothan (Ala.), junior leads the U.S. in base hits (91), home runs (20) and runs scored (68) and is among the leaders in doubles (29).

Her slugging percentage is 1.215 and her on base average is .680. She is batting .576.

With a record of 25-9, Cooper is also among Alabama's strikeout leaders with 298 in 198 innings and has pitched three no-hitters this season.

As a sophomore, Cooper led Dothan to the Alabama 6A state title and led the U.S. with a state record 106 base hits. As a pitcher, Cooper had a 29-6 record with a 0.95 earned run average and 180 strikeouts in 185 innings. As a hitter, she batted .527, drove in a team-high 56 runs last year despite being the lead-off hitter, and scored 83 runs. She also hit 28 doubles, 8 homers and stole 28 bases.

As a freshman, she played a major role as Dothan was state 6A runnerup. She batted ..417 and collected 86 base hits.

Simply put, she is as close to a hitting machine as there is in high school softball today.

Among her many awards, Cooper was a MaxPreps Underclass All-American in 2011. She's been a first-team All-State player three-straight seasons.

Despite closing in on 300 career hits, Cooper says she is having a "decent" season.

But Cooper is more interested in talking about her teammates than her eye-popping accomplishments. When asked how HER season was going, she responded, "we're getting better every week. It's exciting to see how far we've grown as a team. We're taking it a little at time. What do we want to improve on this game, this week."

When asked how HER pitching was going, she said, "the team is backing me up really great. I am trying to excel as much as I can for my team."

When asked if SHE preferred hitting over pitching, she said, "that's a tough one ... I think we prefer hitting. My team loves hitting. We know we can put pressure on opposing defenses. We just love it.

When asked what HER preseason goals were, she said, "we all wanted to win our tournaments, but that hasn't happened, but we won our area tournament (in early May). Our focus on improving and timing is good. If we can improve one percent every game, we will be good."

And when asked about HER statistics, Cooper had to ask someone else to find them.

There is no "I' in team in Cooper's vocabulary.

When asked about Kasey's strengths, Dothan coach Patricia Ball said Kasey is all about team.

"She is a physically talented athlete, but she is all about team," said Ball. "Sometimes you have kids who are very talented, but they don't fit in well with a team atmosphere. Kasey, however, is the ultimate team player. She has a good way of bringing everybody up ... making everybody feel they are all a big part of this."

In an understatement, Ball said "Kasey doesn't like being in the spotlight. She is 100 percent team. She excels for her team."

Kasey would rather talk about this year's team as it prepares for defense of its state title. Or she's happy to talk about last year's state title.

In a trip back to Alabama's 6A state tournament, Cooper hit three homers and earned four pitching wins. Still, she talks about how well her team played.

"This team has really come together," said Cooper. The Tigers open at state May 18 against Bob Jones of Madison.

She also likes talking about "the originals." It's not that she's uncomfortable talking about herself, it's just that Cooper realizes she is "one of nine" who contribute.

The "originals" are what Cooper calls herself and four teammates (Audrey Jones, Susie McDonald, Denise Anderson and Toni Anderson). They've played together since any of them can remember and have two national titles to their credit.

In 2007, the Originals were part of the Alabama team that won the National U-12 Ponytail title. In 2008, they were part of the Alabama team that bested 99 other teams to win the USSA U-14 World Series.

Ball points to a Dothan tradition to describe how "team oriented" Cooper is. The tradition started two years ago when "then pitcher" Hillary Hopkins decided she didn't want to pitch regularly. Ball wanted Hopkins to have some time in the circle, so they agreed any time Dothan was up by 8 runs, Hopkins would come into pitch.

"Well., one game we're winning by 8, but Kasey is throwing a no-hitter, maybe a perfect game," said Ball. "Hopkins gets up to start warming up pitching and I said, ‘hang on, Kasey has a no-hitter.' Next thing I know, Kasey tossed the ball to Hopkins to go pitch and Kasey ran out to shortstop."

Though the Tigers got off to a slow start, losing 10 of their first 19 games, they have improved to 34-15. Ball credits team leadership and everyone buying into the same goals.

"We all get along so well," said Cooper, a straight-A student. "We all have our strengths and weaknesses and we go with our strengths."

Cooper is actually in her fifth year of high school varsity softball. As a 7th and 8th grader, she played at Northview, Dothan's rival. Northview took third at state when Cooper was a third baseman.

In last week's district championship against Northview, Cooper singled home the winning runs. She also tripled, then scored Dothan's first run. And, yes, also got the win in the circle, striking out 11.

"The team played very well," Cooper said. "We just keep getting better. Our defense is making all the plays."

She started playing softball when she was four or five.

"I was just always at the field," said Cooper, who was heavily recruited by Alabama. "Mom was on a travel ball team and my older sister (Kortney) played in college. I wanted to be like them. I just learned early."

Parents Jess and Peppi have always been there for her, she said. Dad coached her U-14 and U-12 teams. Even today, they do hitting challenges with Kasey.

"If they touch the ball off me, they get a point," said Cooper. "I have to hit line drives to get a point."

Cooper was a two-sport athlete until her freshman year when she had to choose between volleyball and softball.

"I did what Kortney did - she chose softball. So I did, too," said Cooper, who is closing in on 300 career base hits.

While she is one of Alabama's top prep pitchers, Cooper will attend Auburn University and likely be a middle infielder.

"They've recruited me to hit," said Cooper. "I prefer hitting over pitching and am really looking forward to Auburn and its engineering school and wonderful softball program."

But Auburn is still more than a year away and Cooper has big goals. In her words, "we want to go out with a bang."

Despite how many hits she gets or how many batters she strikes out, it's always about team with Cooper.