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Stuart just keeps getting better

FSU's co-captain improved on last year's offensive numbers that didn't need improving.

By BRIAN LANDMAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 23, 2002

Entering this season, Florida State second baseman Brandi Stuart didn't think she would match the numbers from her sophomore season when she led the team in seven offensive categories.

She knew she would surpass them.

"I always want to do better than I did the year before," she said. "That's a given."

And that is a major reason why she and the Seminoles will face top-ranked UCLA today in the opening game of the Division I women's softball College World Series in Oklahoma City.

"When you're a freshman, you think you have all the time in the world and when you're a sophomore, sometimes you're not quite as focused as you need to be all the time," FSU coach JoAnne Graf said. "This year, Brandi has come out and played every game intensely. She hasn't relaxed like in the past. She's really played with a purpose."

Stuart, a junior co-captain, leads FSU in 10 categories with career highs in batting average (.401), runs (62), triples (7), homers (10), walks (48), steals (53), total bases (129), on-base percentage (.521) and slugging percentage (.672).

Not only did she receive All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors for a third time, she made the first team All-Southeast Region and is a sure bet to be an All-American. She also received an invitation to try out for the U.S. national team.

"We didn't even pitch to her very much knowing what she can do," said Georgia Tech coach Kate Madden, whose team lost twice to FSU on Sunday in the region tournament to miss the CWS.

The Yellow Jackets walked her the first three times in the region finale.

"The first time somebody walks you intentionally, it's like, 'Okay,' " Stuart said. "The second time you get frustrated. The third time you just want to hit somebody. But if they're going to give me the base, I'm going to take it and I'm not only going to take first, I'm going to take something else, too."

She's among the nation's leaders in steals and and was caught just four times. A walk is virtually a double.

"Her biggest threat is her speed," Madden said. "To have her on base is not fun. But she also has power and that's what makes pitching to her so tough. She knows she's not going to get anything good, but she isn't just going to swing at anything. She's a real smart hitter."

In the preseason, she worked out after practice a few days a week with football-playing pals P.K. Sam and Willie Reid, taking extra swings and fielding grounders.

"It's different being around them because they have a different mentality," she said, referring to a year-around approach to conditioning that is a must in big-time football. "When you're with your friends and they're pushing you and they're challenging you, it was really, really fun. A lot of that has to do with the success this year. I've put in 150 percent more effort into this year than I did last year."

It shows.

"She's not let the pressure bother her of being our go-to batter and she's come up big," Graf said. "She's just put it all together, offensively and defensively, and matured into a team leader."

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