By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Some athletes seem to always be giving their best effort, battling to the end and leading by example. Jocelyn Glasgo (So., P/OF, Rochester, WA/Tumwater HS) of the Willamette University softball team is one of those athletes.
Glasgo's desire to succeed and commitment to softball have led her to achieve impressive offensive statistics for the Bearcats. This season, Glasgo topped the offensive chart for the Bearcats with a .391 batting average, 34 hits, five doubles and five triples and 21 RBIs. She tied for the team lead with two home runs and ranked first on the squad with a .632 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage. She converted 12 of 13 stolen base attempts. She walked 13 times and has been hit by six pitches.
In her two seasons at Willamette, Glasgo owns a .387 career batting average with 53 hits, 32 RBIs, eight doubles, five triples and four home runs. She has a .606 career slugging percentage and a .478 career on-base percentage. During her career with the Bearcats, she is 18 of 19 on stolen bases. She was named Second Team All-NWC as a freshman in 2017. This year's All-NWC Softball Team has not yet been released.
There is so much more beyond her statistics, however, that makes Glasgo stand out on the Bearcat softball team and as an NCAA Division III athlete. There's her commitment to preparation, her focus on each and every play, her confidence at the plate, her determination to do her best, her faith, and her desire to make her teammates happy and lift their emotions through difficult times. It's a lengthy list that sets Glasgo apart.
In order for her coaches, teammates and fans to see these personality traits up-close, she had to decide to attend Willamette and play softball for the Bearcats.
"I chose Willamette University because it would allow me to excel as an athlete and also as a well-educated student," Glasgo said. "The opportunities that this university is able to provide for me both now and after I graduate contributed to my decision. Not only am I able to represent my university by playing softball, but it provides me an educational foundation that I believe I wouldn't receive anywhere else."
Her commitment to Willamette softball has led to her intense focus as the plate. She takes each at bat seriously, doing her best to provide the Bearcats with a positive result every time she steps into the batter's box.
"Being able to represent my university through athletics is a privilege that I don't take lightly," Glasgo said. "I come out, whether it be for practice, a game or a softball event, with my full efforts because I believe there is no reason to give less. In order to be successful in softball, you have to be able to bounce back within a matter of seconds if a play doesn't go as planned. Keeping a determined and strong mentality on the field helps to keep my efforts at a maximum. It drives me to give every ounce before, during and after every pitch."
Success resulting from her determination and effort has led to increasing confidence at the plate during her Willamette career. She has been able to become a leader on offense because she has worked hard and experienced positive results.
"Confidence at the plate does not come naturally," Glasgo noted. "The way I found my confidence is by giving my all and not looking back. I accept the fact that I will fail at times, but that doesn't define the outcomes of my efforts in the future. When I am at the plate, I just have to trust and believe that all of the tedious work that I put in for that moment has prepared me."
And so, for Glasgo, practice is very important, perhaps critical, to attaining success. Repetition and determination can be turned into hits, runs and stolen bases. And yet practices have sometimes been limited for her due to tendinitis in her knees.
"That's really what it comes down to ... putting in the time," Glasgo said. "The only way to develop your abilities as a hitter is practice, and practice with a purpose. I focus in practice on my weaknesses and target them in order to be a well-rounded hitter."
Her faith as a religious person also impacts her commitment to the softball team.
"As a Christian, I hold my standards out on the softball field very high because of my faith," Glasgo commented. "God is the one who has blessed me with the skills and ability ... and he deserves only the best I can give. This is ultimately why I am able to play with no fear and such confidence on the field."
Glasgo's determination, focus and drive may seem at first to be very introspective and involving only herself. This is not the case, as she his always concerned about her teammates. She wants them to enjoy playing softball and to appreciate their time together on and off the field.
"When I am on the field with my teammates, I try my best to interact with them in a way that is positive yet aggressive," Glasgo said. "It is very hard to find a medium between these two and it has taken me a long time to learn how to push my fellow teammates. I do my best to keep my interactions positive and a whole lot silly. We like to goof around on and off the field, and I think this is what helps keep us close as a team. I do my best to give my teammates all I have and show them with my actions that they can trust me."
It is her relationships with other Willamette softball players that she appreciates the most. She is extremely committed to doing her best on offense and defense, but the shared situations with her teammates mean so much to her.
"What I like the most about being on the Willamette softball team is getting to build such strong relationships with my teammates," Glasgo said. "The relationships athletes get to build with teammates are stronger than most other relationships. We literally go through blood, sweat and tears together, and at the end of the day, we can still laugh and have fun together."
