If you are a concrete thinker, and thus need to be presented with factual evidence before accepting the notion that Sophia Gill had a successful first season at Pensacola Junior College, you'll have to wait until August.
That's when head coach Brenda Pena's computer system, where her statistics from the 2006 season are stored, will be back up and running.
But if anecdotal proof is enough, you came to the right place.
After using the first half of her freshman season at PJC to get used to the collegiate game, Gill worked her way into the lineup late in the year and showed flashes of the ability that made her one of the most dynamic players in Hernando County her senior season.
"It went pretty well," Gill said earlier this week during a lunch break from PJC's summer softball camp. "It's definitely a different situation to be in. You have to grow up real quick and take on different responsibilities. But I had fun. I loved it."
One of the biggest responsibilities Gill faced was changing her swing, which had always featured an upper-cut motion. At PJC's first practice, Pena informed Gill that she would have to level out her swing and become more of a line drive/ground ball hitter to survive in the college game.
"She isn't a home run hitter," Pena said. "We wanted her to use her speed a little more."
That had never been a problem in high school, where Gill batted .462 and stole 30 bases as a senior in 2005.
But in the college game, Gill said, "You are facing people on your own talent level."
Changing the swing wasn't easy. After all, for Gill, it had been a life-long habit.
"When I was in high school," the 2005 Hernando/Citrus Player of the Year said, "it was, "Listen Sophia, you know how to get on base, so get on base."
Early in the 2006 season, she'd stand in the batters box and force herself to feel uncomfortable, force herself to use a foreign swing, all the while knowing that because it felt wrong, it was actually quite right.
"You have to really concentrate on it," Gill said. "You have to force your body if you want to change. It's a lot of muscle memorization."
According to Pena, Gill appeared to get comfortable with her new swing midway through the season. It was then that she started earning playing time as the team's fourth outfielder. When she did play, she would bat ninth, and when she did get on base, she would display her trademark guile on the basepaths.
"She did a great job of getting on base," Pena said. "She's an excellent base runner as far as knowing the game, as far as when to advance."
Pena said if Gill can improve her bunting ability, she could bat second this year.
Pena said PJC has a good track record of placing players at four-year schools, and Gill will more than likely end up at one "commensurate with her talent level."
For now, though, Gill is focused solely on the present.
