A preseason look at senior catcher Megan Lane

Softball season hasn’t started yet, but that doesn’t mean the team hasn’t been hard at work preparing for the season. For senior Megan Lane, this preseason preparation gives her the opportunity to further adjust to her role as the team’s starting catcher, a role she only took up last season.

“My sophomore year I played half outfield, half catcher,” Lane said. “I hadn’t caught since high school really, but then my junior year I felt a lot more comfortable behind the plate.”

Lane said she saw her opportunity to take the catching position after the previous catcher graduated, and she dedicated her efforts to making it a reality.

“I worked hard at it the summer before and made sure I deserved to play that position,” she said.

Lane has proven herself capable at the plate as well. In the 2017 season, she averaged .272 with an on-base-percentage of .367 with 25 runs. The previous season, she made both the All-Southern Conference First Team and the Academic All-Southern Conference Team.

With Mercer, Lane said her teammates have helped her grow as a player and built a network of friends outside of the sport as well.

Last year, the team had its first winning season in several years, but wasn’t able to pull off a victory in the SoCon tournament.

“I’ve never won a ring in high school or college so that’s the goal this year,” Lane said. “We’re a young team, we’ve got a lot of young talent.”