Lawrence North High School senior shortstop Anna Mauck keeps racking up some impressive hitting accomplishments.
Mauck, who has signed a National Letter of Intent to play softball for the University of Kentucky next season, has a .469 batting average with three homers in the first nine games. She hit .529 with 13 homers and a school-record 70 runs batted in as a junior. She hit .474 with eight homers as a sophomore and .513 with nine homers as a freshman.
Wildcats coach Matt Marino said the four-year starter batted leadoff her first two years but moved into the No. 3 slot last year because of her ability to drive in runs.
Marino said her biggest strength is consistency as her career batting average is .503.
“She is also very strong defensively as she can play infield or outfield at a high level,” Marino said. “She has a lot of speed. She’s stolen a lot of bases, too.”
Marino said Mauck has developed a better mental understanding of the game.
“This includes knowing game situations offensively and defensively and what needs to be done in those situations,” Marino said. “Over her career, her improvements have been in team leadership as she has been a team captain for two years.”
Mauck said her biggest improvement has been battling back with two strikes at the plate.
“It’s swinging at every pitch and not being too picky,” she said. “It’s just developing patience and an attack mode of when I need to be less picky and figuring out balls that are close enough to be hit.”
Her goal is to raise her batting average this season.
“I want to break as many school records as possible and maybe make all-state first team,” said Mauck, who was named Class 3A/4A second team all-state last year by the Softball Coaches Association of Indiana.
Mauck plays for a travel softball team, Tennessee Fury Platinum X, which plays in tournaments across the U.S. She plays shortstop and third base on her travel team.
She chose Kentucky for several reasons.
“The campus was beautiful,” said Mauck, who plans to major in business marketing. “The coaching staff was nice and welcoming. The Kentucky coach came to nearly every one of our games in the summer. It was cool to see how persistent and how much they wanted me. I felt they wanted me and would be there for me and it’s not super far from home.”
Favorite athlete: University of Kentucky shortstop Erin Coffel
Favorite subject: Math
Favorite vacation spot: Alys Beach, Fla.
