LOUISVILLE — The high school softball season doesn’t start for another month, but that doesn’t mean Kenzie Brock is already thinking her upcoming senior season at Broomfield.
The senior catcher is warming up for the fall season with the Boulder Stars this summer and if all indications are right, it could be a big season for Broomfield in their first go-through Class 5A.
No, the Stars didn’t have a ton of success at the recent Louisville Slugger Independence Day Tournament, but it wasn’t for the lack of effort from Brock — who belted a three-run home run on Friday night against the Oklahoma Twisters.
“It’s been a while since that home run,” said Brock, whose team — coached by Pete Sprenkle — went 0-6-1 and was eliminated in the first round of single elimination in the Louisville Bracket. “I’d been robbed a couple of times, so it was definitely time to get one under my belt.”
Last season at Broomfield, Brock was a vital cog in the Eagles’ run to the 4A semifinals under coach Paula Seifried. She hit .412 last season and drove in 20 runs.
Brock feels good about what the Eagles have coming back, a talented blend of youth and experience that should have no trouble making the transition to the 5A game. After all, as she says, “the game is still the game.”
The outspoken Brock should have no trouble assuming her role as a leader on the team, too.
“Our senior motto, and I got to help pick it is ‘Make your Mark,’ and that is what we are going to do next year,” said Brock, who played her freshman season at Boulder High before transferring to Broomfield. “I’ve played on the 5A level, so I’ve already been there and done that. I’ve seen it. And 4A or 5A, whatever it is, you still have to play your game.”
As for the carry over from the 2013 season and any effect it might have on the 2014 campaign, Brock is leaving that in the hands of Seifried and the Eagles staff.
“We still have some great players, but it is definitely the coaching staff that is carrying that stuff over,” she said. “Our team is going to be young, but we do have plenty of experience and I think we will be just fine.”
Brock hasn’t made any sort of college commitment yet, and at a tournament that was crawling with collegiate coaches from every corner of the country, she couldn’t help but think about it.
A native Floridian, Brock would love nothing more than to head back home.
“But you have to put that stuff in the back of your mind and play your game,” Brock said. “Be with your team and do what you have to do to get a win.”
Given the choice though, she would love nothing more than to return to the southeast corner of the country and find a niche in either Florida, North Carolina or South Carolina.
“We’ve got some places in mind,” she hinted.
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