MENLO - Former Willapa Valley HS exceptional student-athlete Britney Patrick, and now current St. Martin's third baseman, earned a selection on the Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-West Region Second Team. Patrick was also named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, and is a member of the GNAC's First Team.
Patrick, who hit with a lethal wickedness in high school as a member of the Pe Ell-Willapa Valley Titans, pretty much picked up where she left off while establishing herself as one of the Saints' best hitters, and also in the West Region. Patrick is one of only six freshmen to be named to the first or second all-league team which includes players from California, Arizona, Idaho, Hawai'i and Washington. Note: The D2CCA is comprised of sports information directors from each region, with each member nominating and voting. All first team selections then move on to All-American voting.
Patrick helped lead the Saints to a winning record of 19-18 and 10-10 conference record and the Saints qualified for the GNAC Softball Tournament for the first time in four years. For the season, Patrick posted a .328 batting average and slugged 5 home runs and socked in 25 RBI. In 37 games, Patrick manifested 41 hits, including 11 two-baggers, and scored 31 runs. Patrick led the Saints in nearly every offensive category, including batting average, slugging percentage (.536), On-base Plus Slugging (.900), total bases (67), homers, runs scored, hits, doubles (tied) and stolen bases (9, tied). Patrick was never thrown out while stealing bases - going 9 for 9.
Patrick took time to field and answer questions from the Herald about playing softball and college life during her first year at St. Martin's University (SMU) in Lacey.
"Going into play college ball, I really had no idea what to expect," Patrick said. "My freshman year was everything I hoped for and more. I ended up starting at third base and I was usually the second batter in the lineup.
"College ball is much more competitive than high school ball," Patrick said. "It's not even comparable. College ball is like playing against the best travel ball players, every single game. Every team in our conference was competitive. I never went into a game thinking without a doubt we would win because truthfully, I knew it could always go either way.
"The biggest difference in college softball is the level of focus and knowledge it takes," Patrick said. "In high school ball and even travel ball, my teams did not use much strategy. College ball is a completely different game. My softball IQ has expanded so much in just one season at Saint Martin's, and I am so excited to learn more each year."
Patrick's academic success is continuing at St. Martin's as she is proving to be a leader in the classroom as well.
"My classes went really well this year," she said as-a-matter-of-factly. "I made the Dean's List in the fall with a 3.5 GPA and again in the spring with a 4.0 GPA."
Patrick's spring semester recently ended with her finals during the week of the GNAC tournament. Patrick was a valedictorian when she graduated from WVHS.
She discussed her education situation at SMU. "My schedule this year was a mixture of in-person, online, and hybrid classes. I'm currently planning on double-majoring in business administration and accounting. I am ahead in credits because my AA from Grays Harbor transferred over, but I want to stay at Saint Martin's all four years to play softball, so double-majoring is a great option for me."
Asked if college classes at SMU were more difficult compared to classes at Grays Harbor College, Patrick offered, "I would say the classes I took at Saint Martin's were comparable to the classes I took at Grays Harbor. The biggest difference is that at Saint Martin's we are on semesters and at Grays Harbor we were on quarters. Semesters run about 16 weeks whereas quarters are about 12 weeks. I prefer two semesters over three quarters because we get out for summer break a lot earlier."
Patrick gave a glimpse of what college life was like for her during her first year academically and socially.
"The college life was a little different this year because of COVID," Patrick said. "Academically, it was nice because I finally got to take some in-person classes, with masks and social distancing of course.
"Socially, it was a little bit harder," Patrick admitted. "It was difficult to meet new people with all of the COVID restrictions and most classes being online. But the cool thing about being an athlete is that you automatically have a ton of new friends - your teammates. By the end of the year, I felt so close with all of my teammates. When you are around each other all the time, you become family pretty quickly. It was really hard saying goodbye at the end of the year."
Patrick expressed what her favorite, funnest and most enjoyable aspect of going to college and playing softball was during her first season.
"My favorite part about going to college is being able to work towards my major," Patrick said. "Since I finished most of my prerequisites at Grays Harbor, I was able to start taking a lot of business classes this year and I found them really interesting.
"A lot of people don't like high school because you have to learn about all subjects like history, math, and science, but in college, you pick an area of study and focus on it," Patrick added.
"The best part about playing college softball is seeing all of my hard work pay off," Patrick said. "I've spent so many hours practicing and playing this game, and it's awesome that I'm able to play at the next level. Another thing that I love about playing in the GNAC is getting to play against so many of my old (Titan) teammates. Dakota Brooks is up at WWU (Western Washington University), Sidney Pollard is over at MSUB (Montana State University-Billings), and I have many other former travel ball teammates playing in our conference. It's just so much fun."
Playing amid the coronavirus pandemic during her initial season made things a bit more challenging. Patrick explained what sort of impact it had on her.
"It was definitely interesting playing during the pandemic," Patrick said. "We had very strict protocols. At first, we were only allowed to practice in pods. It was quite a while before we were allowed to have full team practices. During the season we all had to get tested for COVID every week and we had to wear masks at all times in practice and games. It was a hassle at times, but I'm so thankful that we got to play this year."
Patrick moved back home after the softball season ended and will be working at Thorbeckes Wellness Center/Athletic Club in South Bend this summer.
Patrick plans on trying to improve her offense and defense heading into her sophomore season.
"Offensively, I would like to be a little more selective at the plate," Patrick admitted. "My confidence definitely grew throughout the year, but at times I was pretty anxious in the box. Having better pitch selection is the next step I want to take in order to improve as a hitter.
"Defensively, I want to work on my range." Patrick noted. "There is a lot more action at third base in college ball and that is something I had to adjust to this year. I really want to stop more balls from getting through the five-six hole next season."
For the Saints, softball practice gets started in September.
"We will start practicing again in September when school starts," Patrick said. "In the fall, we usually play a few community colleges and a couple D1 (Division 1) teams. Unfortunately, we didn't get to this year because of covid, but I have a feeling we will be able to this fall. I'm very excited."
The Herald asked Patrick if she had any advice for high schoolers wanting to play college ball?
"My biggest advice for high schoolers wanting to play college ball is to reach out to different schools and be persistent," Patrick said. "Make sure to have a positive attitude and always work hard because you never know when someone could be watching."
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