By John Raffel
Sara Hansen has three years of college softball remaining at Central Michigan University.
But the former standout at Sacred Heart Academy posted a freshman season that she won’t soon forget. It was such a good season that Hansen was named the MAC’s Freshman of the Year.
“Sara Hansen making Freshman of Year is pretty impressive, coming from a [Division 4] high school team to [NCAA] Division I softball and being able to adapt so quickly,” Central Michigan coach Margo Jonker said in a statement released by the school. “First part of the season was an adjustment period, and by the time we got to MAC play, she really did a nice job adjusting and being able to handle the pitching and defensively getting to balls. I’m very proud of her.”
“I started out struggling and below what I wanted,” Hansen said. “As the year went on, I got more used to stuff and started getting better.”
The games were longer on the college level, Hansen noted, an adjustment she was able to make.
Midway into the season, Hansen started feeling comfortable as a college softball player, a feeling that increased as the team played more games.
“I was mostly an infielder in high school and played outfield in college,” she said, adding that next year, “I’ll probably mostly play outfield. The more I was out there, the easier it got.”
She was confident in going after fly balls. “My arm could use some work,” she said. “I don’t have a super-strong arm.”
Hansen enjoyed a number of highlights. She had two hits and scored a run in a 2-0 win against Boston College on March 4 and had two hits on April 1 in a 7-1 win over the University of Detroit Mercy.
She had two triples in a 4-0 win over Kent State University on April 17 and recorded three stolen bases in a 5-3 win over Buffalo the next day, displaying her incredible speed. She had two hits on April 29 to lead her team over Michigan State, 3-1. She had three hits and a stolen base in a 3-2 extra innings loss to Bowling Green on May 5.
As of early May, Hansen was hitting .331. She ranks second on the team with 16 stolen bases and third in both hits (41) and on-base percentage (.341).