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Healthy Lobpries big for Aggies

Published Wednesday, April 30, 2008 6:19 AM

By ROBERT CESSNA
Eagle Staff Writer

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Texas A&M's Jami Lobpries has fought through an agonizing back injury to become a pain in the side of every opposing pitcher in the Big 12 Conference.

The senior center fielder is hitting .354 in league play with 14 RBIs, amazing numbers for someone batting eighth in the lineup. She's had hits in 12 of the last 15 games. She's had RBIs in nine Big 12 games and is a big reason the fifth-ranked Aggies (45-7, 16-1 Big 12) have clinched at least a co-league title.

"This year has been so much fun," Lobpries said. "I've been healthy. That's been a big thing to be in the lineup every day -- and we're winning. That's always fun.

"And I've never had so much fun with a team. We get along. We are so loose going into every game."

Lobpries and her outgoing teammates will go for an outright title in the regular-season final at 6 p.m. Wednesday against Texas (25-19-2, 9-8) at the Aggie Softball Complex.

A&M's last outright title was 2005 when Lobpries was a freshman. The 5-foot-4 outfielder was part of a dynamic incoming class that included future All-Americans Amanda Scarborough and Megan Gibson and all-conference third baseman Jamie Hinshaw

While her classmates became instant fixtures in the Aggie lineup, Lobpries saw little action as a freshman until center fielder Sharonda McDonald suffered a knee injury. Lobpries replaced her in the postseason, seeing significant action in the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments. She had hits in six of the seven games she started, hitting .304 against quality competition while playing flawlessly in the field.

Lobpries had a decent sophomore season. She batted .267 with 17 RBIs. She hit a walk-off homer against Kansas, then the following day scored the winning run after reaching base via a bunt single. She also had the thrill of a lifetime with a grand slam off Texas All-American Cat Osterman in a 5-0 victory at the Big 12 tournament.

But it wasn't a great year for the Aggies, who slipped to fourth in the Big 12, then lost twice to Lehigh in the NCAA Tournament.

Last year was bittersweet for Lobpries.

She started the first 20 games, missed two, played one, missed nine, played three then missed three more.

"It was my back," Lobpries said. "I had some issues off and on. Then I hurt it pretty bad, and it just escalated. That's when I couldn't play any more. I started having spasms, stuff that I couldn't control. Before, I just played through the pain, then it just got really bad. But it finally got better."

She ended up batting .207 with 15 RBIs in 46 games, but the good news was she started the last 22 games as A&M advanced through the regionals and super regional rounds to the Women's College World Series for the first time since 1988.

"I don't really care about numbers," Lobpries said. "It's about what I can do to help the team. I mean, we got to the World Series. I thought I had a good regional, and I thought I had a good year defensively."

She played well enough for A&M head coach Jo Evans, who has loved Lobpries' competitive edge since she arrived from Wharton High School.

"She plays the game the way it's supposed to be played -- with intensity, with fire, with competitiveness [and] with a chip on her shoulder," Evans said. "You can't have everyone like that, but you do have to have someone like that."

What's making this special for Lobpries is she's healthy after missing the first five games of the season because of her back. Evans said they could have used Lobpries in the early going, but the coaching staff knew it was going to be a long season.

That decision now is paying huge dividends.

"I think maybe it's just the comfort at the plate," Lobpries said. "At the beginning of the season, I felt really good at the plate, but I don't think my numbers showed it. But I thought I had good at-bats and I was hitting the ball hard, and that's really all you can ask for."

She is batting .270 overall with 28 RBIs. She has 26 walks with only 18 strikeouts -- the only regular other than Gibson with more walks than strikeouts. She's also stolen 10 bases in 11 tries.

"She's stayed healthy, which is a testament to her," Evans said. "She's worked very hard at it. It's not a deal where you can rest it and be OK. She's really put in the time [rehabilitating]."

One of her best weekends came in A&M's sweep of second-place Oklahoma (41-11, 14-2). She had a two-run double in a 4-2 victory in Game 1, then her RBI double stood up in Game 2 to give A&M a 1-0 victory.

"She wants to be the one up in a clutch situation, and some kids don't want that," Evans said.

Lobpries, along with Holly Ridley, Alex Reynolds, Erin Glasco and Kelsey Spittler, are the bottom of the order that has picked up the slack for A&M since Scarborough was lost to a season-ending injury. Each has at least 10 RBIs in league play.

"If [Lobpries] wasn't in the lineup? Yeah, it could be a completely different story," Evans said when asked about A&M's high-powered offense. "And you could say that about a lot of our players, but she's really picked up the slack."

She can make up for all those missed games with a strong finish.

"I don't look at individual awards," she said. "What stands out for me is 2005 -- a Big 12 Championship, [and] a World Series appearance last year. And just making the program better than when I got here.

"Ten years from now, I'm not going to remember, 'OK, I hit .250 that season.' That's not a big deal. [I'll remember] the friendships that I've made, the memories I have of going through the bad season, then coming back and getting the monkey off our back and going to the World Series. It's been some downs, but it's been a lot of great memories."

The best is what she's done in the classroom.

Lobpries will graduate May 10 with a degree in sports management. She's just been accepted into A&M's graduate program.

The four-time A&M/Verizon Scholar athlete has maintained a 3.84 grade-point average. She worked for KZNE (1150 AM) during football season, handling player interviews. She's also a writer for 12th Man's Campus Magazine.

"I may not be here without softball," she said. "It's fun, it's my life now. I'll miss it when I'm done, but life goes on. It's been a great four years, I wouldn't ask for anything else."

Except for maybe her back holding up for another month.

"I'm always going to have pain, but it's not excruciating pain," she said, smiling. "I can play through it and I have a lot more movement now. Whereas before, I felt like an old lady and I could hardly move."

Most Big 12 pitchers can't remember when Lobpries wasn't a thorn in their side.

NOTES -- Lobpries has a photographic memory, which has helped her in the classroom and in softball. It also helps her as one of the team's practical jokers. ... Lobpries is not a home-run hitter -- seven for her career -- which makes the grand slam against Osterman and No. 2-ranked Texas which eventually made the World Series in 2006 that more special. "I'll always remember that one," she said. "It's because of her accomplishments, [and] because of the kind of pitcher she is. I just got lucky." ... A&M has a half-point lead (8-71/2) on UT in the Lone Star Showdown, which is a 19-sport competition between the two schools. Wednesday's game is worth half a point. Track and baseball remain. UT won the first three Lone Star Showdowns. ... UT's starting lineup includes former Brazos Valley standouts Kacie Gaskin and Crystal Saenz. Gaskin, a catcher who played at Consol, is hitting .289 with 13 RBIs. Saenz, who played at Bryan, is hitting .194 with 14 RBIs. ... OU pitcher Lauren Eckermann, who earned all-state honors at Brenham, was the Big 12 pitcher of the week. The right-hander did not allow an earned run in victories over Oklahoma State and UT. She struck out 10 in 12 innings with no walks. ... "It's going to be a great atmosphere, our kids are so great at home [21-1] and play really relaxed," Evans said of Wednesday's game. "The atmosphere is going to be nuts. I want to challenge our fans to break the attendance record. We broke the record for a single in 2005 when we played Texas. Let's break it again. I really want our fans to come out and congratulate our kids, and watch us hoist up that Big 12 trophy and be a part of something really special." A&M clinched a share of the Big 12 title in 2005 with a 5-3 home victory over Osterman and UT before a school record 2,341 fans.

• Robert Cessna's e-mail address is robert.cessna@theeagle.com.

TEXAS A&M SOFTBALL

NO. 5 TEXAS A&M VS. TEXAS

WHEN/WHERE: 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Aggie Softball Complex

RECORDS: A&M (45-7, 16-1 Big 12), Texas (25-19-2, 9-8)

TV/RADIO: ESPNU/KZNE, 1150 AM

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