Zoe Hicks: "To compete in both baseball and softball you've got to love the game"
Zoe Hicks is the living example that girls can play both baseball and softball.
"Absolutely," she told the WBSC during the Women's Baseball World Cup Finals closing ceremony. I think this is the biggest thing for me. People always ask if I had to switch, if I need to pick one. The answer is no. You can play both at a very high level. You have to want to love the game, love to play, and find opportunities to get better."
Hicks, 26, starred in the Louisiana Tech University softball programme and is currently under contract with Mizuno Canada.
She started all the games Canada played at the Women's Softball World Cup and at the Women's Baseball World Cup. She played catcher and first base in softball and third base in baseball.
Hicks is happy for the bronze medals, but she was aiming for more.
"Our goal was to be in the gold medal game for baseball and softball. It's disappointing not to be able to play for the title, but it's cool to come back to Canada more aware of what we need to do. We want to be in that gold medal game."
Talking about adjustments, the ball comes from a different angle for the hitter. How do you adjust to that?
"The biggest thing is just the speed. In softball you have so little time to react. It's a short distance between you and the pitcher. Mini adjustments here and there."
Canada has one of the best women's baseball programmes in the world.
"The biggest thing is that Baseball Canada is working at the Provincial level. Small regions are putting a lot of effort into women's baseball. It has to come from smaller Regions; it can't be straight up to the National Team. You get better at that level to build the National Team programme."
On a final note, Zoe agreed on Japan proving the best team in the Women's Baseball World Cup.
"Japan is going to do Japan things, like bunting, squeezing, always having runners on. They also hit the ball well. They lost in the round-robin game [against the US], but when it comes down to the game that matters, they will find a way to win."
