It was an ordinary single to right-center field. Nothing deep, just a soft blooper arching over the head of the Louisiana-Lafayette second baseman.

But within seconds, Veronica Grant stood on second base for Syracuse.

‘She got a double on it because she went full speed right out of the batter’s box,’ SU softball head coach Leigh Ross said. ‘The outfielder didn’t know what to do because kids aren’t usually that fast. You don’t see that every day.’

That double against Louisiana-Lafayette in this past weekend’s Mardi Gras Tournament is a microcosm for just what the freshman Grant brings to the Orange this season. Speed. And a lot of it.

With her quickness, Grant frustrated the Orange’s opponents throughout the weekend. Grant took teams by surprise as she proved to be a menace on the base paths and controlled center field defensively. Nerves didn’t seem to be an issue in her first-ever collegiate games, as the freshman earned a spot on the all-tournament team.

Ross put Grant in the leadoff spot for SU, hoping she would provide a spark to the team. More often than not, Grant responded. She went 7-for-18 over the weekend with a hit in each of the five games. Her .389 average leads the team, and she is second in runs batted in with three.

But most of her damage was done once she got on base.

Grant attempted to steal four times. She safely reached base four times. SU’s opponents knew she was coming, but still, they couldn’t stop her.

‘In one of the games I stole her on the first pitch every single time because it didn’t matter if they knew or not,’ Ross said. ‘They were throwing pitchouts to try to get her, and it didn’t even matter. She’s just got that kind of speed.’

Grant said her ideal hit would only be a single or a double, just so that she could have a chance to steal.

‘You can blink your eyes and she is already at the base,’ senior pitcher Brittany Gardner said.

Her speed also proves valuable on defense, where Grant is learning to play a new position. Growing up as a middle infielder, she had never played in the outfield before arriving at Syracuse. But from her first day with the team, Ross and her staff had Grant out in center.

After one weekend, it seems to be a perfect fit.

With exceptional acceleration and quickness, she is able to cover much more territory than your typical center fielder. Such a big range provides her pitchers with a bit of security as well. They know Grant will be able to get to balls that would ordinarily be hits, allowing them to be more aggressive and challenge opposing hitters.

Ross remembered one such play over the weekend when Grant was chasing a deep fly ball over her head. Though she narrowly missed making the catch, it was a ball that the average fielder wouldn’t even have had a chance at coming close to.

‘In some cases it is more fun because I like to run,’ Grant said. ‘When you’re out there you run free, but in the infield you’re restricted. At first I wasn’t used to it, but now I love being out there and running around.’

Grant admits that it was a difficult transition at first. But she is now doing more than just running around. In the five games over the weekend, she played error-free softball, and her ability to read the ball as it comes off the bat is improving every day. She has the basics down, and the rest will develop with more game experience, Ross said.

‘Veronica is such an unbelievable athlete, and she is going to be very successful,’ Ross said. ‘I think she is starting to get a little confidence in herself now, too. To be a freshman and hitting leadoff and starting in center field is huge. … I think she did a great job.’

mjcohe02@syr.edu

Published on February 22, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Michael: mjcohe02@syr.edu | @Michael_Cohen13