When you see DJ Sanders after a game, you see a bubbly personality that is always having fun. Even when she’s talking with the media, she’s cracking jokes and smiling the whole time. But according to Louisiana Ragin Cajuns softball head coach Mike Lotief, you don’t want to let that personality fool you as she is a very competitive person and turn into a warrior on the field quickly.
That competitive drive has started to put her into rarified air this season as she’s been doing some amazing things. In her last 11 hits, she’s sent 10 of them out of the ballpark.
Her performance this season has even drawn the attention of the Ragin Cajuns baseball team. Designated hitter Steven Sensley said last Friday that “She’s putting up videogame numbers right now. I can’t compete with her.” This was after hearing that the junior shortstop hit two grand slams against Texas State.
Rough Beginnings
It wasn’t the best start for Sanders as a Ragin Cajun. Even Coach Lotief said on Saturday after another stellar performance that not everyone remembers that when she started out, she was having a hard time even getting on base. It took her four games to get her first collegiate hit and it wasn’t until April 3rd against Georgia State that she got her first of many home runs.
Her turning point as a freshman came during the Troy series when she got out of an 0-for-7 slump on March 22nd, 2015. From that point until the end of the Sun Belt Conference tournament, she got at least one hit in 13 of 20 games. That turnaround wound up raising her batting average by 47 points.
A few weeks before the season started, Lotief talked about his star shortstop and how even after her great sophomore season, she’s still growing.
“DJ is continuing to grow. It’s not only the home run numbers,” the Cajuns softball coach said, “It’s what she’s doing on defense, her maturity and leadership throughout the team. It’s not just the numbers, she’s the total package.”
Her performance this season is a testament to that statement as Sanders is currently leading the entire country in RBIs, slugging percentage, and home runs. She’s also received four player of the week honors from the Sun Belt Conference this season. But those accolades don’t really affect her. “I don’t really feel the pressure myself and as long as I take it lightly I won’t feel it”, Sanders said of the external expectations from the fans.
Best In the Country
“We’ve been talking about DJ since she got here. You can see her athleticism and you knew this was the direction she was headed.” Lotief said of his junior shortstop. The ability she has on the field is amazing. Not only can she knock the cover off the ball, she’s a phenomenal defensive player at her position, possibly the best that the Ragin Cajuns have ever had.
Even Lotief said that he thinks that she’s the best shortstop in the country. Again, looking at the statistics it’s pretty obvious that she is in consideration of being one of the best in college softball. But that doesn’t come without a little help.
After Saturday’s doubleheader, DJ delved into some of what the Cajuns do to prepare for an opponent.
“We have a plan that changes for each pitcher. Coach Mike does a good job preparing us for what’s coming. She’s gonna throw this pitch and I spend all week preparing for it so I’m going to do this to hit it. It just so happens that when I square it, it usually goes out, but it’s only because of the preparation that Coach Mike has put in.”
Breaking the Streak
After her first home run on Saturday, she wound hitting her eighth home run in as many hits. These weren’t consecutive at-bats, but that doesn’t make the feat any more impressive. After the Cajuns went through the lineup in the first, she had come back up to the plate with the bases loaded. It’s been a very familiar situation for her as of late. This time, it wasn’t a grand slam that she hit. It was a two-run single to left field.
“I was trying to break the streak.” Sanders said about what happened when she hit that single in the first. “When I reached first base, I told (assistant coach) Chris Malveaux ‘I finally broke the streak.’ He said ‘It’s about time!’”
While that streak ended, her home run streak continued in the second game of the doubleheader with her third straight game with one home run.
“She’s very locked in right now. I don’t get to see it because we’re in practice every day and consistently in practice that’s what she does.” Lotief said of her performance on Saturday, “This isn’t anything out of the ordinary. This is something DJ has been on the brink of doing for the last six months.”
Closing In On Greatness
DJ is coming incredibly close to breaking some school records, including the single season home run record previously set by former teammate Lexie Elkins in 2015. At 27 home runs with two more weeks left before the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, it seems like a possibility.
She hasn’t even talked to Elkins about it yet as she’s just focused on doing her best for the team right now. That focus along with her athleticism and intelligence has really helped get her into the position she is now.
When talking about some of the best players that have ever put on the vermillion and white for Cajuns softball, there’s one common thing according to Lotief.
“We always forget the players like Alana Addison, Danyela Gomez, Holly Tankersley, Gabriele Bridges, and Christi Orgeron. Every great hitter that’s come through this program possesses the same things that DJ has. Their mothers are extremely competitive and that’s where their personality comes from. That competitive drive comes from them.”
That drive Sanders has will take her to the top of the country and could very well put her name alongside those players Lotief mentioned considering that she will have one more season as a Cajun.
-Clint Domingue