Spittler hot at the plate for A&M softball team

Texas A&M's Kelsey Spittler can smile at her accomplishments and laugh at her mistakes.

Spittler's late-season surge has helped the Texas A&M softball team move into third place in the Big 12 standings. She's batting .395 in league play, a whopping 54 points higher than the team's next best hitter. Spittler's hot streak includes a 6-for-7 effort in a doubleheader sweep of Kansas that earned her the Big 12 player of the week award for the first time. She didn't stop there, adding a single and sacrifice fly in a 5-1 victory over third-ranked Texas and helped the Aggies stretch their winning streak to five games with a homer in a 7-3 victory in Oklahoma State.

But before Spittler put A&M on the scoreboard in Sunday's game against Oklahoma State, she helped the visitors take a 2-0 lead. The senior left fielder made a running catch in foul territory, but Spittler forgot about the runner at first. Her gaffe allowed the runner to reach second during a listless start for A&M that included a fielding error, wild pitch and hit batsman.

"I'm not going to speak about that," said Spittler, who noticed a couple teammates smiling awaiting her response. "No matter how old you are, you're always going to make mistakes. You're always going to have brain farts. No one is perfect. I'm not perfect, and I'll be the first one to tell you."

It's those moments that have helped Spittler mentor a young squad which includes a trio of freshman starters in third baseman Amber Garza, catcher Nicole Morgan and outfielder Cassie Tysarczyk.

"With Amber, Cassie and Nicole, I'm constantly, like, 'Hey, remember that time you did this?'" Spittler said. "And then they'll look and they'll say, 'Yeah.' And I'll say, 'OK, think about that time and do it again.'"

Spittler relishes her leadership role and gives credit to the seniors when she arrived from Caldwell High School -- Jami Lobpries, Amanda Scarborough, Megan Gibson and Jamie Hinshaw.

"All of them were pretty much All-Americans," Spittler said. "I was intimidated by every single one of them, but they had my respect. I looked up to them a lot, and I played the way they played. I feared that if I didn't do my best and play my hardest and contribute to the team, then they were going to get on me or yell at me and not like me as a player. They exuded leadership and confidence."

Now it's Spittler doing the talking.

"I constantly tell [my teammates] I have their back," Spittler said. "When they are in a slump, I'm just like, 'Look, you are going to have bad days. It's how you work out of it and keep your attitude up. You're going to be even better than you are.'"

A&M head coach Jo Evans appreciates how Spittler has embraced being a leader.

"[Spittler] doesn't mince words," Evans said. "If she's got a problem with somebody or feels people aren't doing that they should be doing, she'll speak up. But she's always done that in a real respectful way. She's got strong opinions and she wants our team to do well. Sometimes when that happens, a person can be overbearing, but she uses discretion and is also much more nurturing than attacking."

Spittler does more than just tell the freshmen.

She shows them.

Spittler had a sizzling start to her senior season, including a grand slam in the opener. But by the time Big 12 play rolled around, she was struggling. Spittler's average had dipped to .232, and she headed to Baylor with one hit in her last 16 at-bats.

"I wasn't seeing the ball and attacking the ball very well and my swing didn't feel as comfortable as it does now," Spittler said. "I was still struggling with being comfortable in the box as far as keeping my feet planted and not dipping my shoulder and dropping my hands."

It got so bad that Morgan batted as the designated player for two games with Spittler just playing defense. Things got worse when Spittler went hitless in two games against Baylor, but since then she's 18 of 41 (.439).

"I put a lot of work into hitting mostly before practice," Spittler said. "Then one day in practice, it just clicked. My confidence level had definitely increased after being in the slump I was in in preconference. Then I started swinging the bat good and hitting the ball good."

Evans said Spittler just relaxed.

"She was just pressing," Evans said. "I think that happens a lot of times to seniors. They want it to be the best year of their career, and I think that's how she felt. She was going to do anything she could, and she really worked hard it, and I think she was putting too much pressure on herself."

Spittler's been so good lately that she's moved up in the batting order to fifth. She's hit 11 home runs over the last two seasons after hitting only two as a freshman and sophomore.

"I've actually shocked myself. I'm really not a power hitter," Spittler said. "I work hard in the weight room, and I love lifting weights and I love getting stronger. But I also think it has to do with how quick my hands are and my swing."

Spittler started lifting weights at Caldwell as a sixth-grader, and all that time in the weight room has paid off. The 5-foot-6, chiseled 140-pounder is a three-time strength and conditioning All-American by the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

The muscle paid off in what's been Spittler's biggest hit to date -- an RBI triple at the Women's College World Series in 2008 against Florida in the ninth inning that put the Aggies into the national championship series against Arizona State.

It's one of the few times Spittler has been in the national spotlight.

"I think a lot of people don't notice her," Evans said. "She does fly underneath the radar, and she is having a great year. I've always liked her swing from the time I've seen her as a young player. She can be aggressive and plays the game hard. But she's not going to be a big home-run hitter and she can be kind of streaky."

The lack of recognition doesn't bother the left-hander who has shed the quiet nature she arrived with.

"I just go up there, and hit the ball and have fun," Spittler said.

She might do that for the last time at the Aggie Softball Complex this weekend, unless the Aggies get picked to host an NCAA regional. No. 18 A&M (39-13, 11-5) will play Texas Tech (40-12, 5-11) at 6 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday, which is also Senior Day. Spittler's weekend also includes her graduation.

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NOTES -- Spittler wants to be a high school coach, following in the footsteps of Caldwell head coach Wendy Weiss, who recently won her 200th game, and Evans, who is closing in on 900 victories. She said both coaches are encouraging and have made her batter, attributes she hopes to have as a head coach. ... The A&M-Tech series isn't Saturday and Sunday so that Tech can return to Lubbock a day earlier and both teams can watch the NCAA tournament field announced Sunday night on ESPU.