Patience guides Katie Bailiff in UNC softball win over South Carolina

The embarrassment of whiffing on a breaking ball when expecting a fastball can be distracting for a hitter.

But when North Carolina catcher Katie Bailiff was fooled by South Carolina first-year pitcher Cayla Drotar with her team trailing and the bases loaded in the third inning of UNC's 7-3 win Wednesday, she remained locked in.

One pitch later, she knocked a hard-hit single right up the middle that drove in two runs to give the Tar Heels (7-4) a lead they would not give up.

That at-bat sums up the type of season the sophomore from Trinity, N.C., is having. After struggling to wait on pitches last season, Bailiff remembered after that breaking ball what she had worked on most during the offseason: remaining patient at the plate.

“I just knew I needed to stay back,” Bailiff said. “'Stand back' went through my mind.”

With newfound discipline, Bailiff has been making pitchers pay in 2017.

After going 2-for-4 against the Gamecocks (8-2), she’s hitting .480 with 14 RBIs and six doubles through UNC's first 11 games of the season. On Feb. 17, Bailiff hit a walk-off double to lead the Tar Heels past Ohio State.

“I think she has that confidence right now that no matter what comes across the plate, she’s going to hit it,” head coach Donna Papa said. “And so, that’s a really good mindset to have.”

Bailiff’s prowess at the plate is coming after an offseason full of hard work and progress.

Baptized by fire early on in her college career — she started 42 games behind the plate as a first-year in 2016 — Bailiff hit just .176 last season.

According to Papa, Bailiff had a habit of jumping out on pitches too early and often leaned too heavily on her front side.

The solution to that problem? Using a sandbag in the batting cage to learn how to keep her weight back.

So far, the odd technique is paying dividends. While the season is still young and Bailiff’s 25 at-bats make for a small sample size, she is still hitting well above the .231 batting average she posted through the first 11 games in 2016 — while also becoming a power hitter for the Tar Heels.

“In the offseason, I knew I had to work my tail off if I wanted to stay in the lineup and continue to execute and help my team win this season,” Bailiff said. “So the sandbag helped me a lot by staying back in my legs and driving through the ball.”

Bailiff’s strides have been noticed by her teammates, and her improvement doesn't come to a surprise to junior Katelyn Shifflett, who also hit a three-run home run against South Carolina.

“She comes in on her own and does extra, so I know she’s putting the work in outside of practice and outside the field, just doing stuff on her own,” Shifflett said. “So she’s really been working for it. She really deserves it.”

@brennan_doherty

sports@dailytarheel.com