Bates College senior softball player Andrea “Dre” Russo became the program’s all-time hit leader earlier this season. Sun Journal photo by Russ Dillingham

LEWISTON —   As a speedy lefty with deft bat control, Andrea “Dre” Russo is the quintessential “slapper” for the Bates Bobcats.

Simply put, a slapper’s job is to get on base. In fast-pitch softball, a slapper is generally a left-handed hitter who can hit the ball on the ground to a soft spot in the left side of the infield defense and get out of the box and down the line quickly to beat the throw to first, if there even is a throw.

Bates College senior softball player Andrea “Dre” Russo. Sun Journal photo by Russ Dillingham

Russo is so good with the bat and, not to be overlooked, her legs, that she recently broke Bates’ all-time hit record with her 128th career hit in a 3-2 loss to New England College in the final game of the Bobcats’ March Florida trip. But the Cheshire, Connecticut native admits she wouldn’t mind seeing what kind of launch angle she could get if she swung up instead of down.

“Yeah, there are a couple of times where I’m, like, ‘Ohhh, if only I’d used my hips a little more,'” she said.

A four-year starter (and sprinter for Bates’ indoor track team), the home run column is about the only place Russo hasn’t left her mark as a Bobcat.

Russo is the only senior on coach McKell Barnes’ roster and is helping the Bobcats through the growing pains of a rebuilding season.

“It’s been interesting, but the two juniors on the team, Julia (Panepinto) and KP (Messalonskee alum Kirsten Pelletier) have made it feel less like I’m the only senior,” she said. “I don’t feel like I’m the only one that has to be in charge of everything in regard to team dynamics and things like that. We divvy up a lot of the leadership roles and it works out really well.”

“(The season) has been about learning how to be content after every game knowing that I played my heart out and playing as if it was my last time,” she said. “Plus, helping to bring together the cohesiveness of the team and just making sure everyone feels comfortable on the field and off the field.”

Russo has helped with the former by making some sacrifices, such as moving from center field to left field and moving from the leadoff spot to the middle of the order. A .380 career hitter with 29 stolen bases and 83 runs scored in 114 games, Russo admits she was more mentally prepared for the change than she would have been a year or two earlier.

“With coach’s help, and also growing as a player and gaining more experience, I’ve just become more self-aware of what I’m doing and why I’m doing things,” Russo said. “Before, I would just kind of get up to bat and have so many things in my head and so many options about what to do.”

NCAA rules implemented last year added one more big thing for Russo and other slappers to think about. Batters were no longer allowed to have any portion of their foot outside of the batter’s box. Any time contact is made with even just a portion of the foot outside of the box, the batter is out. So the footwork Russo had spent countless hours perfecting with her swing had to be changed.

“Last year, I actually was full-swinging a lot because of the new rule for slappers and hitters in general,” Russo said. “I was struggling with that rule change a lot so I had to adjust my footwork, which is muscle memory and something that I’ve been practicing for a while. So I had to adapt to full-swinging. Once again, it’s another tool in the tool box that I have.”

“There are a lot of different tools in her tool box,” Barnes said. “Obviously, speed is one of her biggest strengths, so with that we just ask her to hit the ball into that five-six (between third base and shortstop) hole, possibly bunt. She can slap for power. She can soft-slap. There are so many things that vary based on the situation, whether there are runners on base, the pitches that she’s getting …”

Russo’s array of hitting skills and meticulousness in developing them have sometimes been to her detriment when she is mired in a slump. But instead of over-thinking when she was at the plate like she would have done in the past, Russo has embraced simplicity and trusting in her ability.

“I think this year she’s finally found that balance,” Barnes said. “I couldn’t be more proud of Dre and the effort that she puts in and her growth, personally and athletically, across the board. It’s been really, really tremendous.”

Russo supplanted 2009 Bates graduate Stacia Saniuk with her milestone base hit last month. It’s a record she is proud of but also downplays because she is able to play in more games than her predecessors. Plus she expects one or both of her fellow Bobcat slappers, sophomore Caroline Bass and/or first-year Kennedy Ishii, to ultimately supplant her atop the list.

The slapper trio has helped spark the Bobcats’ recent four-game winning streak, which included last weekend’s sweep of rival Colby. That raised the Bobcats’ record to 3-3 in the NESCAC (8-13 overall) and gave them a good head start on clinching a spot in the conference tournament.

Russo wants nothing more than to extend her final softball season, and not because she can add to her hit total.

“If I can leave one legacy that will be lasting I would like it to be not only helping girls’ mentality on the field,” said Russo, who coaches for a travel team in Connecticut during the summer, “but being able to touch their lives.”

Bates College senior softball player Andrea “Dre” Russo. Sun Journal photo by Russ Dillingham

“Just knowing I get at least a couple of more days added to my last softball season ever is important,” she said. “That’s the senior in me coming out.”