McHenry Times

It was a banner season for the Butler University (BU) women's softball team, and sophomore third-baseman Alyssa Lach of  Algonquin, Illinois, was one of the key catalysts to one of the best finishes in team history.

The Bulldogs concluded the year 28-24, their best record since 2011, and followed that up by beating DePaul and St. John's in the conference tournament for their first Big East title. They also made the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history.

Despite losing both games in the tourney -- a 2-1 heart-breaker to Kentucky and a 6-1 defeat at the hands of Louisville -- the BU season was a great success by the way they closed the year, and Lach's toughness was one of the prime factors that led BU to this historic finish, Bulldogs' head coach Scott Hall said.

"Alyssa played injured all season," Hall told the McHenry Times. "She's actually going to have surgery this offseason on her knee, and she battled through injury all season. I think that affected her performance a little bit. That just shows you how tough of a kid she is."

The former all-state, all-conference and all-area player out of Jacobs High School started all 52 games for BU despite this injury, earning true iron status, and she hit .262 with a .349 on-base percentage to go along with nine doubles, three home runs and 25 RBIs. But it was her solid play at third base that really impressed this year for the Bulldogs.    

"She's really done a great job for us at third base," Hall said. "I think the injury affected her more offensively than defensively, but she is very instinctual, (and has a) high softball IQ. She's a great kid. She also anticipates really well and knows what's going on in that moment when a play needs to be made. It's definitely a strength that not all softball players have."

Those tools have allowed Lach to be a starter since the moment she walked on campus. And if she can get healthy in the offseason, the Bulldogs will be looking to her for even more leadership as she takes on an upperclassman role. Hall will be expecting her to take that next step.   

"We'll be looking for all the things we look for in all of our upperclassmen in terms of leadership skills and helping the young ones come along in their development," Hall said. "It's one of those things where if she stays injury-free, the sky's the limit. So we're just going to get her stronger, get her healthy and let her continue to develop as a player. She's a durable, tough kid."

With Lach coming back in a leadership role and the team coming off of one of the best seasons in program history, Hall fully expects the Bulldogs to once again compete for the Big East title. The conference championship remains their No. 1 goal.

"Our expectations were always high," Hall said. "Our goal is every year to win the conference. That doesn't change from year-to-year. That's always our goal." 

As they chase that second conference title, Hall expects his tough-minded third-baseman  to continue leading by example and also to continue playing every game for the Bulldogs moving forward.

"That's the plan," Hall said.