Saturday, April 13
Bowling Green, KY
1 PM
University of North Texas
at
Western Kentucky
Photo by: Rick Yeatts Photography
Makawe's Leadership Key In Softball's Success
4/12/2019 4:00:00 PM | Softball
BOWLING GREEN, KY – It could be considered uncharted territory for North Texas softball.
The program is off and running under first year head coach Rodney DeLong, and is finding itself in positions it has never been before. The program reached its win total from 2018 in early April, and reached 20 wins faster than any team in program history had before when defeating Florida International on March 30.
Every first-year coach has his or her challenges when inheriting a program. What certainly helps is senior leaders like Rhylie Makawe.
The senior from Aledo is not afraid to lead by example.
"It really is just part of who I am," Makawe said. "It just comes along with my personality. I did not turn away from a leadership role. I accepted it when it was placed upon me. It's not really about what I say, I try to make it about what I do. To see my teammates respect that, and listen to what I say it's a great feeling."
From day one, DeLong knew she would be vital in instilling the culture that he wanted to bring to Denton. He knew from one of their first conversations he had a good student and athlete in his program in Makawe. She made solid eye contact and spoke to her new head coach well and with poise.
"I knew she was a quality kid from the first time I had the chance to meet her," DeLong said. "The first time we worked out, I knew immediately – there's one of our day-to-day leaders. Her work ethic daily, she comes to practice and she is always competing. She is always playing hard."
She sets her example on the field with her defensive ability at second base. She has started all 38 games for the Mean Green and leads all infielders with a .954 fielding percentage. She and short stop Lacy Gregory have combined to turn 18 double plays this season at a .47 per game clip good for 29th in the country.
Gregory and Makawe played together on the right side of the infield last season with Gregory at second and Makawe occupying first. Now Gregory has shifted to short stop and has found her own challenges of learning a new position.
With Makawe beside her, it has become much easier.
"Rhylie is my probably favorite teammate I've ever had, besides my sister," Gregory said. "We can communicate by just looking at each other. We say every day that she is just on a different level when she shows up to practice. It's really special to us to have someone with that much passion in our program."
At the plate Makawe leads by getting on base. She is vital in the Mean Green's success in 103 at-bats. She has a .282 average this season slugging seven home runs with three of them coming in the weekend series against Saint Mary's.
One unique part of her game is her positioning in the box. She does crowd the plate a bit – annoying to any pitcher. But she will not get out of the way of a pitch. She's been hit by 13 pitches this season which ranks tied fifth in the nation.
She is in the top 15 in HBP in the country in her career. It has been part of her game ever since she can remember.
"I'm not going to turn down a free base," Makawe said. "We love free bases."
Makawe is constantly one of the lloudest voices in the dugout, leading her teammates in chants and cheers constantly swaying the energy as high as it can possibly be. When her team trailed 8-0 on the road to Louisiana Tech she made sure her teammates were up and cheering.
The value of energy is not lost on the senior.
"if you are winning and the energy is down, it can even feel like you are losing," Makawe said. "But you can be down 8-0 and the dugout is still loud, high energy, next thing you know you're up. It definitely has an outcome on people's performances if you bring that external motivation, it will lead to positive actions on the field.".
The Mean Green rallied, winning 10-9 in one of the largest comebacks in program history and picking up the first win in Ruston ever.
With arguably the biggest series in recent program history and in Makawe's class's time at North Texas it is time she and her teammates rise to the occasion. Western Kentucky sit tied at the top of Conference USA with the Mean Green.
The Hilltoppers have put together a great season of their own. Currently sitting at 27-8 overall and 10-2 in C-USA play. The Hilltoppers are 7-3 in their last 10 games. It is a battle of two of the top five offense and pitching staffs in the conference. The Mean Green will also return batting average leader Katie Clark who has been dealing with a nagging wrist injury.
"Knowing you have your teammates backing you up if you fail that aspect has grown," Makawe said. "I learned a lot from Coach Kee in softball IQ wise. Coach DeLong is instilling a great culture. We were talking this morning to make sure everybody knows how important this series is, not just this one but every one on out. We need to rise to the occasion."
Inclement weather is possible in Bowling Green. Follow @MeanGreenSB on Twitter to keep up-to-date with any changes to the schedule. Sunday's game will be streaming on CUSA.tv. Live stats will be available along with live coverage on Twitter.
The program is off and running under first year head coach Rodney DeLong, and is finding itself in positions it has never been before. The program reached its win total from 2018 in early April, and reached 20 wins faster than any team in program history had before when defeating Florida International on March 30.
Every first-year coach has his or her challenges when inheriting a program. What certainly helps is senior leaders like Rhylie Makawe.
The senior from Aledo is not afraid to lead by example.
"It really is just part of who I am," Makawe said. "It just comes along with my personality. I did not turn away from a leadership role. I accepted it when it was placed upon me. It's not really about what I say, I try to make it about what I do. To see my teammates respect that, and listen to what I say it's a great feeling."
From day one, DeLong knew she would be vital in instilling the culture that he wanted to bring to Denton. He knew from one of their first conversations he had a good student and athlete in his program in Makawe. She made solid eye contact and spoke to her new head coach well and with poise.
"I knew she was a quality kid from the first time I had the chance to meet her," DeLong said. "The first time we worked out, I knew immediately – there's one of our day-to-day leaders. Her work ethic daily, she comes to practice and she is always competing. She is always playing hard."
She sets her example on the field with her defensive ability at second base. She has started all 38 games for the Mean Green and leads all infielders with a .954 fielding percentage. She and short stop Lacy Gregory have combined to turn 18 double plays this season at a .47 per game clip good for 29th in the country.
Gregory and Makawe played together on the right side of the infield last season with Gregory at second and Makawe occupying first. Now Gregory has shifted to short stop and has found her own challenges of learning a new position.
With Makawe beside her, it has become much easier.
"Rhylie is my probably favorite teammate I've ever had, besides my sister," Gregory said. "We can communicate by just looking at each other. We say every day that she is just on a different level when she shows up to practice. It's really special to us to have someone with that much passion in our program."
At the plate Makawe leads by getting on base. She is vital in the Mean Green's success in 103 at-bats. She has a .282 average this season slugging seven home runs with three of them coming in the weekend series against Saint Mary's.
One unique part of her game is her positioning in the box. She does crowd the plate a bit – annoying to any pitcher. But she will not get out of the way of a pitch. She's been hit by 13 pitches this season which ranks tied fifth in the nation.
She is in the top 15 in HBP in the country in her career. It has been part of her game ever since she can remember.
"I'm not going to turn down a free base," Makawe said. "We love free bases."
Makawe is constantly one of the lloudest voices in the dugout, leading her teammates in chants and cheers constantly swaying the energy as high as it can possibly be. When her team trailed 8-0 on the road to Louisiana Tech she made sure her teammates were up and cheering.
The value of energy is not lost on the senior.
"if you are winning and the energy is down, it can even feel like you are losing," Makawe said. "But you can be down 8-0 and the dugout is still loud, high energy, next thing you know you're up. It definitely has an outcome on people's performances if you bring that external motivation, it will lead to positive actions on the field.".
The Mean Green rallied, winning 10-9 in one of the largest comebacks in program history and picking up the first win in Ruston ever.
With arguably the biggest series in recent program history and in Makawe's class's time at North Texas it is time she and her teammates rise to the occasion. Western Kentucky sit tied at the top of Conference USA with the Mean Green.
The Hilltoppers have put together a great season of their own. Currently sitting at 27-8 overall and 10-2 in C-USA play. The Hilltoppers are 7-3 in their last 10 games. It is a battle of two of the top five offense and pitching staffs in the conference. The Mean Green will also return batting average leader Katie Clark who has been dealing with a nagging wrist injury.
"Knowing you have your teammates backing you up if you fail that aspect has grown," Makawe said. "I learned a lot from Coach Kee in softball IQ wise. Coach DeLong is instilling a great culture. We were talking this morning to make sure everybody knows how important this series is, not just this one but every one on out. We need to rise to the occasion."
Inclement weather is possible in Bowling Green. Follow @MeanGreenSB on Twitter to keep up-to-date with any changes to the schedule. Sunday's game will be streaming on CUSA.tv. Live stats will be available along with live coverage on Twitter.
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