Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week: Wilson Hall's Hanley dominates at the dish

Wilson Hall's Dani Hanley has been a consistent contributor for the Lady Baron softball team, but she cranked her game up a notch in a trio of games last week.

Hanley hit over .700 last week and went deep three times as Wilson Hall went 3-0.

"I just felt really confident," Hanley said. "I was confident in my hitting."

Hanley opened the week with a pair of hits and four RBIs as Wilson Hall smashed region foe Florence Christian 18-2. She also scored twice as she homered and added a double.

Wilson Hall head coach Teresa Alexander noticed that Hanley had been in a bit of a slump prior to the offensive explosion but knew she could trust her third baseman to get back into a rhythm at the plate.

"I think it was the usual Dani. As all hitters do, she was in a bit of a slump, but because we know what kind of hitter she is and what kind of athlete she is, we knew it was going to come back," Alexander said. "It just had to work itself out and boy did it. It was just important to continue to tell her she's a great hitter and it was no surprise that she went right back into her great hitting self."

She kept that momentum going into a doubleheader against Augusta Christian. She was lights out in the opener, hitting two home runs and driving in five runs in an 18-1 rout. In the second game, she was 2-3 with two RBIs and three runs scored as Wilson Hall pulled out a 9-4 win.

"I didn't let it get to my head too much," Hanley said of her two-home run game. "In both of those games, our team was really up and cheering. Everyone was really excited for each other, so I think that helped."

The three games were played after a full week off for the Lady Barons. Wilson Hall played twice over spring break the week before but went a full seven days between games before squeezing three games into two days.

"We were just taking it one day at a time, getting in extra hits when we can," Hanley said of how she spent the time off.

Hanley and the Lady Barons are getting hot at the right time. The playoffs are right around the corner, so that momentum is greatly appreciated for a team that's looking to defend its SCISA 3A title from a year ago.

"In the beginning of the season, we were doing well, but as the season is coming to an end and we're getting closer to state our team is really clicking and coming together," Hanley said.