Hanf’s historic season

Sarah Hanf is remembering her mother's lesson each step through life.

That includes each time she steps onto a softball field.

"My mom taught me to live life in the moment and to take everything one step at a time," the Weatherford College freshman pitching standout said. "That is something I apply to softball and in my life as well." 

The right-hander from Elk Grove, California, is no doubt making her mother proud. In her first season in college ball, she has emerged as one of - if not THE - premier pitchers in the nation. As of this article, Hanf ranked third in the nation in wins (19) and fifth in strikeouts (169) with a 1.72 earned run average and only 22 walks in 122.1 innings. She was the season's first national Pitcher of the Week.

She has also been named the Northern Texas Junior College Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week three times, so far.

"Being named pitcher of the week three times was definitely a niche experience," she said, adding, "The season is not over yet and I will continue to strive to be the best I can."

That's a scary thought to opponents.

"Like I said, the season is not over and I'm going to continue to take it one day at a time," she said, reinforcing her determination to post one of the best seasons a Coyote softball player has ever recorded.

But being the best is nothing new for Hanf. At Laguna Creek High School, she struck out 500 batters, earned first-team all-conference four years, including being conference MVP twice and team MVP all four years.

And while there was a transition from high school to college, she called it "challenging at first, but once I got acclimated it became super fun."

Easy for her to say, not so much for batters who come to the plate to face her.

She admits, however, that it is hard being 1,500 miles away from her family but they come to visit a lot and that helps. 

Hanf said she realized she had a natural talent for softball at an early age, which sparked her love for the sport. But then, it wasn't softball that first drew her attention.

"I started playing baseball when I was five and later transitioned to softball at age 10," she said. "I didn't start pitching until 12. I decided I wanted to learn, so I taught myself by watching videos on YouTube."

She played some select ball, but mainly as a guest player for different teams.

As for why she chose WC, she said it was simple, really. She likes to win, and the Coyotes have a history of winning.

She'd also been to Texas three previous times before signing with Weatherford College and liked the area and its level of softball talent. 

"I was drawn to the competitive conference our program is in as well as the new and nice facilities at WC," she said.