The Wildcats started their fall season of softball on a good note, but one athlete in particular showed what we can expect to see from her for the upcoming years starting this fall season off with a home run.
Mattingly Barnes came to Wayne State College as a freshman this year to further her exercise science education and continue her athletic career with WSC softball. Barnes graduated from Mercy High School in Omaha, Nebraska where she played for the Monarchs softball team. Barnes also played for the Quakes, a select softball team, where she became a national champion.
Barnes, in one of her first games as a Wildcat hit her first collegiate home run and the first home run of the seasons for the Wildcats which flew over the scoreboard right behind the field.
“It felt good,” Barnes said. “I kind of knew right off the bat that it was going, but it was good to finally get a good hit throughout the season and finally feel like I was ready to play a softball game.”
The transition from the high school level to the collegiate level for Barnes has seen a few struggles. Barnes has had to learn how to manage her time with softball and being a full-time student, as there are a lot more longer practices than she is used to. She entered WSC with an old teammate from the Quakes who also is on the WSC softball team which made the transition a lot smoother for Barnes.
After playing her first few games with the Wildcats, Barnes feels connected to the team and is excited to play with the other girls going forward. She started a little nervous since she didn’t know everyone on the team but knew that she wanted to impress the coaches and her teammates but she was not expecting to hit a home run as her first hit. In attendance for her first collegiate home run were her biggest supporters, her parents.
“My mom and my dad are for sure my biggest supporters,” Barnes said. “They’re always wanting to help me out whenever they can and just being there for me. I always can my mom and my dad every day just to talk to them.”
“To watch your kid put in the work to reach a goal of playing a college sport and to know that only a small percentage of kids get to play softball in college. I’m extremely proud of Mattingly,” Barney Barnes said. “I hope in the next 4 years she continues to put the work in and has the greatest 4 years up in Wayne.”
