By Kalena Reynolds | Staff Writer
For senior left-handed pitcher Lillie Walker, perseverance has been a common theme as a student-athlete. From transferring to Baylor for her fifth year to recovering from a torn ACL, Walker has utilized her mental resilience as a key player for Baylor softball this year.
Walker moved to Baylor in August to begin her master’s in social work, and she immediately felt a warm welcome from the university’s athletic and academic departments.
“I could tell from the get-go that they were going to be people that cared about me, even outside of softball, and were really going to invest in me and believe in me,” Walker said. “That was really exciting, obviously.”
At the end of the fall, Walker’s dynamic with the team shifted as multiple pitchers, including her, worked their way back from injuries. With the shakeup, Walker realized how much the team would rely on her during the season.
“I started to realize that, like, ‘Hey, I think I’m gonna be carrying a big load, just in sheer number of innings this semester,'” Walker said. “I was excited to get to do that at the other school that I played at before, but it was more like a closer role. I would come in [and] pitch two or three innings at a time.”
While the team started on a demanding schedule during the first few weeks of the season, Walker said the benefit showcased what areas the team needed to focus on and what success looked like.
“We had a really tough schedule coming in, and we knew it was going to be that way,” Walker said. “I think it was really good for us to see that caliber of competition and see what we would need to improve on. Whenever you play teams like that, your weaknesses are obviously just kind of put out there in front of everyone.”
Walker said head coach Glenn Moore came into play by being honest with every player about the areas they needed to improve. Moore specifically told Walker the circumstances for pitchers were unexpected this year, but Walker was able to step up to where she needed to.
“I didn’t envision her having to pitch whatever number of complete games she’s pitched at all, but for her to embrace that and realize how that’s what this team needs, because of a large part of the season, there’s not been a number two,” Moore said. “It’s been Lillie.”
Walker credits her resilience and success to her even-tempered personality. She also said being in the closer role at Duke familiarized her with the feeling of either winning or losing, with no middle ground.
“My personality is very even-natured; [I] usually don’t get too high [or] too low,” Walker said. “I’m pretty even-keeled. And I also think at Duke, I played the role of being in that closer role. I learned a lot from that, like I can only go in and do the best that I can do; no one else can ask any more from me.”
Aside from the abrupt changes due to transferring, Walker said she has enjoyed the transition to living in Waco and loves the city and the Baylor community.
“I’ve loved Waco, and for my program, I’ve kind of been immersed in the community,” Walker said. “I have an internship at a local middle school, and just being able to see the community and learn about the history of Waco and all those sorts of things has been really interesting.”
As her time as a college athlete closes in, Walker said she’s grateful her family has been able to travel to so many games to support her this year. Even though she still has a year left in school, she’s extremely fortunate to have acquired the experience this year.
“I’m really feeling just blessed to have this opportunity, and I never would have dreamed that I would end up at Baylor pitching as much as I have,” Walker said. “Getting the education that I’m getting … you have to take a step back and be like, ‘Wow.'”
