Kansas softball coach Jennifer McFalls watched Sydney McKinney and Addison Barnard hit almost everything her pitchers threw and came to strong conclusions about confidence and how the brain guides hitting.
"They have an incredible mindset to be at the top of the order," McFalls said after a 9-1 loss to the Shockers in April. "Our game is built on failure. They don't think about failure. They think about getting on, finding ways however they can, to score runs."
That mindset comes from many sources for McKinney and Barnard – work ethic, superior hand-eye coordination, and strength.