Amanda Locke is in her final season with the Alabama Crimson Tide softball team as a utility player for the team. In 13 games this season, Locke has batted .432 with 17 RBIs. She has also made four pitching appearances without giving an earned run in six and 1/3 innings of work. Recently, Locke earned the SEC Player of the Week for the second time in her collegiate career.

The Crimson White: Being from Texas, what made you chose to go to Alabama?

Amanda Locke: The coaches gave me a call, and I came to visit the next weekend. I fell in love with the family atmosphere here, the people and facilities. There’s no way to really explain it. We always say, ‘You can’t understand it unless you really experience it. The people here are amazing.’ But it’s true; the family atmosphere is something you have to experience to understand.

CW: You’ve played volleyball and ran track also. What made you decide to go further with softball?

AL: Softball has been my passion since I was little. I’ve played since I was four years old. I come from a family who plays sports. My brother has played football and my dad played football. In high school, I had a couple of things I did, but softball has always been what I love. It’s just something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

CW: What did the team feel they could improve on after last year?

AL: Every year, there’s a goal, and this year’s theme is ‘finish it’. We want to come out and dominate every team we play and not settle. It’s going to be something that makes us better every day as a team.

CW: What have you personally been working on this season?

AM: Personally, I’m just working on getting better every day. I’m setting little goals for myself every day. It’s not one thing. I always try to go out and be a leader and lead my team the right way. It’s not just one big thing I’m working on.  It’s the little things because it’s process over outcome. The little things are going to produce the big things.

CW: What do you think makes this team work so well together?

AL: The comradery. We all love each other. Everybody is just as competitive as everybody else. We all have the same goal, and we all are working towards that goal. We all get along. We’re like 20 sisters. Every day, we come out to the field and bust our butts to get better for the same thing.

CW: How do you feel about being undefeated so far?

AL: I don’t really think about that. We’ve played some good teams and good competition. I like preseason because you get to see all the different lineups [head coach] Murphy has. You get to see different players in different positions. The cool thing about our team is that we have 20 different girls that can all start in the game. We don’t have a starting set lineup here.

CW: How do you want to leave your mark on Alabama softball?

AL: I want to leave my mark as someone who gave everything they had, someone who came out and worked hard every day and was a great leader.  Also, as someone who really cared for their teammates and cared about the team first and not themselves. I want to be seen as someone who has a great work ethic and that gets better every day.

CW: How far do you think the team will go this year?

AL: I think we’re going to win it all. That’s what I think.