At the start of a season that brought in 10 freshmen, it was evident the No. 10 Missouri softball team would need leadership. Coach Ehren Earleywine looked to redshirt junior pitcher Chelsea Thomas to get the team together and pumped up for games.
But behind the noise, senior outfielder Ashley Fleming emerged as an offensive powerhouse in her final season as a Tiger, which is exactly what Earleywine expected of her.
“I told her to lead by example and show some fearlessness to make the younger kids feel the same way,” Earleywine said.
Fleming boasted a .342 batting average coming into the series at Iowa State this past weekend, tied for the seventh-best in Missouri softball history. During the series at Oklahoma the previous weekend, she broke into MU’s top 10 for career hits with 185. She is now also fourth overall in home runs with 38.
“Her hitting has just been unbelievable,” Earleywine said. “This is the best year she’s ever had. When we’re facing good pitching, she’s the one that’s hitting.”
Earlywine said he is surprised to see Fleming continue to receive opportunities to get hits.
“They keep throwing her strikes and I keep saying, ‘Thank you,’” Earlywine said.
As her last season reaches the home stretch, Fleming is focused on the present and is optimistic about her future. She said although the team is no longer in the running to defend its Big 12 Conference title, the Tigers are looking forward to competing in the postseason.
“It doesn’t matter what you do in the beginning of the season, it’s how you do in the postseason, and we’re working toward the (College) World Series,” Fleming said. “Hopefully we can pull it all together and have some good weekends to give us some momentum and get past the couple setbacks we’ve had this season.”
As her career as a Tiger nears the end, Fleming looks ahead to a bright career in journalism, which is a major she selected out of high school because it is much different than her sport of choice. Although the future is still blurry, Fleming said she has several options in both coaching and convergence journalism internships after graduation.
But while the season is still alive, Fleming said she is working on leaving a legacy for her younger teammates, helping them to see that softball is more than numbers.
“I’ve really had pride in always asking (Earleywine) questions and learning the game, because when you understand the game mentally, that sets you apart from everyone else,” Fleming said. “I think that’s one of the biggest things that has helped me get to where I am now: understanding the mental side of the game.”
Fleming said she has looked for ways to improve outside of simply hitting the ball.
“I don’t want to just go through the motions,” she said. “It’s one thing to just do it, it’s another thing to understand why you’re doing it.”
Earleywine said he is more than pleased with Fleming’s career at Missouri, especially her senior season.
“All things considered, I couldn’t have asked for a better year from her,” Earleywine said.
As far as the mark she wants to leave on the program, Fleming said it isn’t her statistics she wants people to remember.
“I want to be seen as the person who knew the game, loved the game and took pride in learning every aspect of the game, not just playing it,” Fleming said.