That is evident by the 36 walks he has drawn. Add in the 11 times she’s been hit by a pitch and you have 47 plate appearances in which the bat has practically been taken out of her hands.
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Gray has 25 fewer RBIs this year than last year due to reduced opportunities. His batting average is just three points below last year’s .371 mark that he set as the best mark of his career. But his slugging percentage has increased nearly 100 points to .827, as has his on-base percentage to .530.
But, if he’s on base more and driving in fewer runs, that just means the Lions need other players in the lineup to take advantage of those RBI opportunities.
And they have, as the team has posted a successful 45-7 overall record heading into the postseason. The MIAA Tournament begins at 11 a.m. Thursday for the Lions. They will face the winner of No. 8 Washburn University and No. 9 Missouri Western State University.
Carsen Tinkler is one of those who has picked it up. The senior third baseman has a career-best batting average of .370 at this point in the season and has set other career marks. For starters, he’s seen more pitches with a career-high 146 at-bats and 16 walks. That batting average ranks third on the team.
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“Honestly, I feel like the growth really happened in the second half of last year. She performed really well on the outside throws,” MSSU head coach Hallie Blackney said. “No one beats Carsen Tinkler. She works hard every day. In last year’s postseason, she started handling (pitches) up and in.”
Blackney added that the key was to maintain their strengths and focus on improving the areas that needed improvement. It paid off.
Tinkler’s on-base percentage has grown each season over the four years, going from .346 last year to .431 this year. That has led to a career-high 23 races, compared to 20 races during the 2024 season.
He also hits the ball more. The most hits in a season before 2026 was 38 in 2024. He has had 54 hits this year, 42% more than two years ago, and still has the postseason left. His slugging percentage is up almost 200 points from the previous year, at .562. That’s largely due to his seven home runs, five more than last year.
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His OBP and slugging percentage rank fifth and fourth on the team, respectively. His home runs are second behind Gray. His 33 RBIs are third as are his 54 hits.
“To be honest, in my opinion, I didn’t train her well until this year,” Blackney said.
The eighth-year head coach at MSSU referenced her experience in biomechanics while learning more about a pair of her hitters this season.
He called Maddie Rolfs and Tinkler “aerial” athletes. She believes coaching an aerial hitter is where she needed to improve. The “punished” athletes in softball would be hitters working from scratch, and that’s where Blackney believes he trains hitters “pretty well.”
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“That’s my strength. I’m getting better, but my weakness was aerial hitters. I learned more about that and I think that’s helped me coach them better,” Blackney said. “In my opinion, Maddie and Carsen have taken off this year and honestly, it’s because I’m not holding them back.”
Blackney noted that Motor Preferences Experts is where he learned more about aerial hitters and how to train them differently while working from the upper body down.
Rolfs has also flourished at the plate. He increased his batting average by more than 100 points from last year and currently has a .333 average. His slugging percentage rose almost 200 points, from .306 to .490. He nearly doubled his RBI total with 29 this year and more than doubled his hit total with 51 compared to just 22 last year.
The junior center fielder has 17 extra-base hits this year compared to five last year. His 12 doubles are significantly more than last year’s three. He also has three triples and two home runs. Last year he saw only one of each.
Rolfs is fourth on the team in hits and second with 12 doubles.
MSSU will look to carry that offensive success into Thursday’s showdown in the quarterfinals of the MIAA tournament.