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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 5 80 out to look at the hand, and Koorsen did a lot of grimacing and writhing, but she stayed at the plate and fin- ished the at-bat. She was back in the field the next inning, even though the injury was to her left hand, which had to be scrunched into a glove. But to leave the game? That'd be like giving up, wouldn't it? That's not part of Koorsen's make- up. "I like that we have a bunch of nice kids on our team, (but) Alyssa is a little gritty, a little tough, a little rough around the edges in a good way," Schuette said. "Teams need that. She has a little bit of fight in her, which I like." Good thing, too. Entering the season, Schuette desperately needed players to emerge after the team lost a group of instrumental seniors, especial- ly in terms of the team's offensive production. The second-year coach's options to replace the considerable production? A roster full of inexperi- enced — at least in terms of games played — players who generally had yet to prove their worth at the col- lege level. Most of them hadn't had the chance yet to do so. Koorsen knew she had been get- ting better each season, which in part led to her frustration of not playing. But now there was no doubt: This was the prime opportunity. Schuette made sure to remind her in their meeting before the year. "I said, 'We have six starters grad- uating. You are someone who can play multiple positions. It's your se- nior year, your last hurrah, what are you going to do about it?' She's done something about it," Schuette said. "I think she's been on a mission. Battling the shoulder injury, it was never 'wah, wah' or 'pity me.' It was, 'I want to play. Give me whatever you've got to do, I want to play.' "She knew there were open spots to be had. There's something to be said about that, too. The roadblock is not in front of you. You just have to get out there and grab opportunity." Koorsen never assumed she'd beat out the returning competition, wasn't even so sure she had until she was in the lineup for the open- er and then again the next day and the next. But the more she played, the more comfortable she became in an everyday role, and her confidence grew. Especially at the plate. Koorsen started the season on fire, hitting .378 through Purdue's 28 non-conference games to begin the season. And that's with her "unorth- odox" swing, as Schuette describes it. But good hand-eye coordination and an aggressive approach has made up for that not-exactly-pretty approach, Schuette said. And Koorsen's teammates don't seem to mind if her swing isn't en- tirely fundamentally sound. "It's really, really cool to sit back and just watch her just ball," Par- sons said. "Coach, a lot of times, she doesn't even give her signs. She's like, 'You be you. Go out and do what- ever you can do.' She does it. She gets on base." So now, more than at any other point in Koorsen's career, she could easily shed the "team player" and "hard worker" label that sometimes gets tagged on players who primarily ride the bench. Now, more than at any other point in her career, Koorsen has proven she belongs in the lineup, in the field, as a true leader in the club- house. Now, more than at any point in her career, Koorsen should be able to bask in the glow of the spotlight a bit. But doing that would deny every- thing she'd gone through to get to this point, she says. And she never wants to shed her fighter mentality. "I would take, 'Alyssa's a hard worker and Alyssa's a team player' above any other compliment. They could say, 'She's a good player,' and if I wasn't a hard worker or team player, I would not be proud as a player," she said. "If I was good just because I was only naturally talent- ed, I would not be as proud of myself as I am. I'm proud in the fact that I'm a hard worker. "I'm proud of the successes that I've had. I'm proud of how far I've come. Just have the confidence in my- self to know I've always had it in me. It was just taking that extra step and performing when it was needed." j