Boone Grove junior shortstop Zoey Powell knows she has come a long way.
Even though Powell has been starting for the Wolves since she was a freshman, she’s only beginning to feel comfortable in her role this season, and that’s making quite a difference for her.
“Being an upperclassman, it gave me more confidence,” she said. “My freshman and sophomore year, I was really quiet and really nervous, so I made mistakes.
“Now that I’m older and have to be one of the four leaders of the team, it forces me to keep a positive attitude, and that translates to how I play. It’s just keeping my energy up and just putting full effort in. That’s what made me do a lot better.”
Powell, one of four team captains along with senior second baseman/outfielder Chayse Duerr, junior pitcher/outfielder Jordyn Botma and junior outfielder Olivia Treece, has gotten off to a hot start this season. Coming off a big 5-2 win against Andrean on Monday, Powell is hitting .500 (9-for-18) with a homer, two doubles, two RBIs and a team-high six runs scored for the Wolves (2-4).
Those numbers reflect the significant strides she has made since her earlier days.
“I would cry after every error and every strikeout or a really bad hit,” Powell said. “But now I know I’ll have more tries. In Tennessee, our very first game this year, my first two at-bats I got out on. My third one, I hit a change-up to left field, and I was like ‘Oh.’
“It makes me feel better knowing that, yes, I’m going to fail, but I’m still going to have so many chances to do really well.”
Powell split time between second base and shortstop before she took over at short midway through her freshman season, when she hit .189. She then hit .330 with 17 RBIs and 19 runs scored last season.
“I went to a new travel team my sophomore year, and that’s when things started to change and improve, and I saw it,” she said. “It wasn’t just softball. It was also school. I would just get really upset. I got to things like therapy, and that also helped a lot.
“The main thing is also just getting older and being at a higher level. That just gives me more confidence, knowing how great I am. It gives me the confidence to play better.”
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Botma, an Oakland recruit, has seen that in action as Powell helps set the tone for a team with eight freshmen.
“She’s improved a lot with her communication and confidence,” Botma said. “Her confidence in herself has gotten a lot better. She’s amazing on and off the field. She’s always someone, if you need help, you can go and talk to her. She’s always bringing up the team, making us laugh, having a good time.
“Her skills — she’s fast, she can hit the ball, she can field the ball — there’s nothing she can’t do. If someone got hurt in the outfield — she’s never really played outfield — but I know we could put her out there and she’d be fine. She can do anything.”
Boone Grove coach Ron Saunders has set a high bar for Powell.
“Her teammates having more confidence in her also rubs off on her,” Saunders said. “You talk to them, you can tell the confidence they have in her. She’s the only one I don’t have a backup for at shortstop. So what does that tell you? I expect her to play every game, every inning.”
The Wolves expect to challenge for Porter County Conference and postseason titles, and Powell is prepared to be a primary contributor.
“Where I am now, it’s cool to see,” she said.