SENIOR SPOTLIGHT: Kristy Lawrence

Number 19. They call her "Aussie" when she comes up to bat. Why? Well, that is exactly where she hails from.

Kristy Lawrence grew up in Sydney, Australia, following her brother around while playing soccer and this little known sport called softball. Around the age of nine, Lawrence started playing softball and that is what led her here to the States.

"I wanted to come play and get a degree," Lawrence said. "There are actually a lot of Australian girls coming over here to play now."

Through connections in Australia, Lawrence was introduced to Rome McNary, who coached at Western Texas Community College. After playing there for two years, Lawrence's name was mentioned to Samford head coach Beanie Ketcham, and the rest was history.

Moving halfway across the world was an interesting experience for Lawrence. Although moving away from home to go to college is usually an opportunity for a person to gain independence, Lawrence realized that she would have to become almost completely reliant on her friends for everything.

"I didn't have a car, so I was always asking people to take me places," Lawrence said. "I couldn't really do anything in my time. I had to plan everything else out."

When asked what her favorite thing about being in the United States was, Lawrence responded with:

"Friends. I love them all."

Because she doesn't get back to Australia very often - only a few weeks for Christmas and in the summer - her friends have become her family away from home.

Speaking of family, Lawrence says that her older brother has had one of the most significant impacts on her life as an athlete. She started playing soccer at the age of four, just because her brother did.

"I followed him around everywhere," Lawrence said. "I went to all of his soccer practices. Everything he did, I wanted to do."


She emulated his competitive fire, something every athlete needs to become who they want to be.

While maintaining a competitive spirit, Lawrence has also kept a laid-back approach to the way she plays sports.

"I just try to tell [the younger players] to think more about the task at hand than the previous things that have happened," Lawrence said about her approach to the game. "It's just another day, and it's not that big of a deal. That kind of keeps things in perspective. Usually, the simpler it is, the easier it is. If I start complicating things, then it's just going to be harder. If I'm relaxed and keep it simple, that's when I do my best."


This approach seems to have helped Lawrence as she has had a breakout season in her senior year as a Bulldog. She, along with the other two seniors, not only leads her team through seniority. The trio leads the Bulldogs in hitting. Lawrence sports a .305 batting average, which is fourth on the team behind fellow seniors Jessica Owens and Kylie Harmon and freshman Robyn Harmon.

She also leads her team in hits (39) and is second in RBI (22). She has knocked out four home runs so far this season, bringing her career total to seven and has settled in nicely as the starter at first base, posting 345 putouts on the season.

Upon graduation next May, the exercise science major hopes to return home to Australia to pursue a career in the medical field.