Patience = Power with a side of walks
Against Purdue, a two home run, three-walk weekend was simply Bridget Donahey’s latest display of potential for the ‘Cats. The sophomore shortstop has been stellar this season, batting .282 with eight home runs and 21 RBIs while being a defensive playmaker at the heart of the infield.
This season, Donahey is one of just four Big Ten players who led their team in both strikeouts and walks. In conference play, Donahey is third on the team in walks and second in strikeouts, but her recent approach in the batter’s box has her offensive output on the rise.
Splitting up Northwestern’s 17 conference games into Donahey’s first ten Big Ten games and her last seven games in conference play, the statistical differences are stark. Albeit a small sample size of 21 plate appearances in her last seven contests, but Donahey’s batting average, extra base hit and home run rate have ballooned from her first ten games of Big Ten play this season. Yes — 19% of her at bats in the last seven games have ended in a homer and 38.5% of her at bats have ended in extra base hits.
Compare that to her stats as a first-year, and it’s clear how Donahey has progressed as she’s continued to develop her skill set.
What really pops off the page has been her recent surge of power. With four home runs in her last seven games, every one of her five hits in that span have gone for extra bases. Her two blasts in the opening game against Purdue — her first career multi-home run game —helped power Northwestern to a 9-0 victory.
But her approach over the last two weeks has seen the sophomore get on base more effectively — a gaudy 57.1% of the time — strike out less and walk once in every three plate appearances. In the heart of the lineup, that efficiency is huge to continuing to power Northwestern’s offense.
Donahey has walks in four of her last six games, with three of those contests seeing the sophomore have multi-walk afternoons. Once on base, she’s a threat to steal, racking up two of her seven stolen bases this year during that span.
But seemingly it’s been her approach that’s fueling her increased success.
Not only has Donahey gotten deeper into counts over the last two weeks, almost tripling the rate of full counts she’s seen, but if you toggle through the different metrics, you’ll notice she’s seeing more pitches and balls per at bat too. Five of her last 21 plate appearances have ended in a full count, and in the last two games of Northwestern’s series against Purdue, the sophomore slugger saw three full counts in seven trips to the batter’s box — two of which ended in walks.
Although an increase in just under half a pitch per plate appearance doesn’t seem like a lot, if Donahey continues to keep that up, over a three-game series that equates to seeing between four to five more pitches.
More pitches means more pressure on opposing pitchers and mounting quality at bats only makes Northwestern’s lineup more dangerous. Specifically for Donahey, getting into deep counts has been big for her on base percentage, boosting her walk rate and more importantly her power hitting. Against the Boilermakers, Donahey’s first of two home runs came on a 2-2 count, while in a 5-4 victory against Maryland, the sophomore smacked a no-doubter to center field on a pay-off pitch.
At the same time, when she’s feeling confident she’s unafraid to be aggressive — hammering a first-pitch home run in Northwestern’s midweek clash at home against Illinois and smoking her second moonshot against Purdue on the second pitch of the at bat.
Against a Nebraska pitching unit this weekend that’s struck out the fewest batters and given up the sixth most homers in conference play, expect Donahey’s approach to lead to runs on the scoreboard.
Yet, the bottom line remains the same. Seeing more pitches, applying more pressure on opposing pitchers and feeling confident at the plate all go hand-in-hand. With her recent boost in power — doubling her season home run output and increasing her RBIs by 50% in Northwestern’s last seven games — it’s good to see her recent stretch of play hasn’t been fueled by luck, but rather by better at bats and a more patient approach.
Sure, seven games is a relatively small sample size, but if she can keep up her improved patience at the plate, it only makes her recent production more sustainable. As the ‘Cats look to close out Big Ten play, a patient and productive Donahey only means trouble for their competition.