By John Evanko
After dominating the hardwood for four years, senior Patrika Barlow is hungry for more. However, when March Madness rolls around, Barlow won’t be on the basketball court – she’ll be on the softball field.
Barlow was a four-year letter winner and two-year starter for the University of Louisville women’s basketball team. She was a major part of Louisville’s 2007-2008 season; in which she helped the Cardinals reach their first Sweet 16, dishing out nearly seven assists per game.
Now that Barlow is no longer eligible to play college basketball, she is looking to take on a new challenge, in a sport that she hasn’t played seriously since her sophomore year of high school.
Upon watching her play, however, it may be difficult to tell that she hasn’t played in years.
“She puts in a lot of hours to make sure that whatever she’s doing, she’ll be successful at it,” Sandy Pearsall, U of L softball coach, said. “She’s a very hard worker.”
There is no doubt about that. On top of her accomplishments on the playing field, Barlow won “Iron Cardinal,” a weightlifting competition between the athletes. In addition to her work ethic, Barlow’s athleticism and ability to pick up anything have helped her to fit right in.
“I can’t believe she’s so good at more than one sport,” Kathy Stanza, senior teammate, said. “It’s amazing.”
Most importantly, Barlow credits her success to her teammates’ willingness to not only accept her, but to help her out in every aspect of the game.
“Coming in from a different sport, I didn’t know how they would accept me,” Barlow said. “But they made me feel right at home.”
With all the support, Barlow will most likely be able to take all the attributes that made her successful on the basketball court and use them to improve the softball team.
As a senior and a former point guard, the softball team looks to utilize her leadership and communication capabilities, in addition to her athletic ability.
“Her speed and her aggressive style of play will be huge for us,” Pearsall said.
With all the ways Barlow can support a team, it is hard to say just how good the No. 5 University of Louisville women’s basketball team would be with Barlow on the court.
However, they are 21-2, and Barlow couldn’t be happier for them.
“They are doing great this year,” Barlow said. “A lot of the freshmen have stepped up into big roles.”
As for softball, Barlow continues to strive to make the difficult transition. She jokingly admits that her softball experience has been limited to slow-pitch softball since she finished fast-pitch in her sophomore year.
Even yet, no one doubts Barlow’s ability to make a positive impact on the team. With her everyday improvement, Barlow hopes to help the softball team do something she has never done before.
“I have never won a Big East championship,” she said. “It would be great if I could come in and make an impact on this team and we could win the conference championship.”
The softball team couldn’t agree more.
