Before Stephanie Watts’ first at-bat every game for the Syracuse softball team, she leans over to the ground.

She writes something, gets up and goes to the plate. The initials ‘DJS’ are left behind in the dirt.

‘My grandmother passed away and she never got to see me play in college,’ Watts said. ‘It’s in memory, so she can always see me play.’

A little tribute for someone that meant a lot.

Watts’ grandmother, Dolores, died on Aug. 5, 2008, due to complications from diabetes. Her death occurred just a few weeks before Watts moved to Syracuse for her freshman year. It was a huge loss for the sophomore, who had a very close relationship with her grandmother.

‘She told me she does that, and I bawled my eyes out,’ said Mary Watts, Stephanie’s mother. ‘She was very proud of (Stephanie’s) accomplishments. When Steph played during summer ball, she always called to find out how (the team) did.’

Watts has started all 81 games that Syracuse has played since she’s been on the team, and every single time she has written ‘DJS’ in the dirt before she bats. She’ll pay her tribute twice more today as the Orange (15-15) hosts St. John’s (13-16) in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. at SU Softball Stadium. Syracuse is coming home and looking to rebound from a disappointing weekend at Georgetown, where the team lost two of three.

Watts will be a key factor when Syracuse tries to turn things around against the Red Storm Wednesday. Despite being only a sophomore, the second baseman is growing both as a player and as a leader.

‘She’s a kid that is open to growing,’ head coach Leigh Ross said. ‘She is looked at as a leader as only a sophomore. That’s tough for a kid that’s still trying to grow and find herself, but she’s willing to take that on.’

Since the first time she stepped on the field for the Orange, Watts has been one of SU’s primary offensive players. She homered in each of her first three games of her collegiate career last season at New Mexico and finished tied for the team lead in home runs with seven as a freshman. She’s continued her contributions this season, hitting two home runs and driving in 14 runs through 30 games.

Grandma would be proud.

‘She was very excited, very proud that Stephanie got a scholarship and was really excited to see her do well in college,’ Mary Watts said. ‘Then she took a turn for the worse and passed away before all this happened.’

Watts was the first person in her family to get an athletic scholarship. The tribute to her grandmother before the game is just one sign that she is growing more mature, Ross said. She has also done away with tossing her helmet after a strikeout, a bad habit that hindered her ability to be a leader for the Orange.

‘She kind of reminds me of myself with her passion,’ Ross said. ‘Sometimes when you’re young, you don’t quite understand how to use that passion. Whenever you get so angry you want to throw something, you need to turn it into a positive. I see her doing that now.’

During Spring Break, Watts could not find the earpieces for her helmet. The earpieces usually fell out of her helmet when she would slam it down. Ross poked fun at her, ‘Did you throw it again?’ A former sign of immaturity became a joke.

In the stretch run of her second season for Syracuse, Watts has harnessed her passion and is now one of the leaders of a young Orange team looking to climb to the top of the Big East. Her will to win and love for the game facilitate her success, and they are the reasons why she will leave a lasting image on Syracuse softball by the time she’s done, Ross said.

For now, Watts will leave an image in the dirt next to home plate for someone who left a lasting image on her life.

‘My mom would be very pleased and touched that Stephanie would think of her to do something like that,’ Mary Watts said. ‘She would realize how much Stephanie has matured. (Stephanie) has accepted her challenges and deals with them.’

mcooperj@syr.edu
 

Published on April 6, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Mark: mcooperj@syr.edu | @mark_cooperjr