Going left was the right decision
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By turning herself into a left-handed hitter, Colleen Dougherty has given herself a future in softball.
"I probably wouldn't be where I am now," said Dougherty, who committed to Binghamton on Jan. 31.
Fox recognized that Dougherty's best chance to make the varsity team was in putting her speed to good use as a leadoff slap hitter. Left-handed slap hitters have an edge over righties because they have a little less distance to get to first base. The only problem was Dougherty's a natural righty.
Dougherty said her reaction to Fox's recommendation was, "Anything I have to do to be on varsity."
With the help of Fox's daughter, Colleen Fox, herself a left-handed-hitting former college player for Rider, Dougherty s a freshman on the junior varsity team started the slow and laborious process of converting herself from a right-handed hitter to a left-handed hitter.
"It felt so awkward," Dougherty said. "I couldn't even swing the bat lefty."
As a sophomore, Dougherty was the starting second baseman for the varsity team, where she has remained since. Dougherty has made herself into quite a player. Last year she was named to the all-Suffolk County team. Swinging from the left side no longer feels strange to her.
"It's second nature to her now," Bob Fox said. "She worked her tail off. It was all hard work on her part. It shows you what you can do."
Bob Fox said in his 10 years of coaching the Blue Waves he never before had a player switch the side of the plate from which she bats.
"It was a project," Dougherty said. "I still don't have it right. I'm still working on it. It took like a whole year to work out most of the kinks."
Nonetheless, Dougherty's left-handed swing is much better now, and she doesn't swing right-handed any more.
Dougherty may remain a work in progress, but she is undoubtedly a big part of the Riverhead team, which also features senior pitcher Julia Morrow, an all-division selection and the 2009 team most valuable player. Morrow is headed to play for an NCAA Division I team herself, Central Connecticut. The Blue Waves, who were to hold their first preseason practice on Monday, could have as many as 11 returning players, including 10 seniors.
Defensively, Dougherty forms a double-play tandem with shortstop Kara Vonatzski. Offensively, Dougherty is a force with her speed. Her role is clear: set the table and score runs. As the fastest player on the team, Dougherty did both last year. She finished last season with a .500 batting average, .640 on-base percentage, 32 runs scored and nine walks.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that Dougherty has made a name for herself as an athlete. Her two older sisters both shined in different sports for Riverhead. Ellen Dougherty, a cross-country and track and field standout, went on to compete for Villanova. Julie Dougherty plays field hockey and softball for Marywood University (Pa.). Both Julie and Colleen played together for the Blue Waves when Julie was a senior and Colleen was a sophomore.
Colleen Dougherty said it wasn't until last fall when she thought she could be a college player. "I didn't think I would take it this far," she said. "I'm really happy with myself with all the effort and all the work I put in. Really, it showed that practice paid off."
bliepa@timesreview.com
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