Last spring she had to sit on the bench. Now she leads the country in home runs.

When the Glenwood softball team faced off with Macon East on Tuesday, one Lady Gator gave the No. 1 team in AISA’s Class 2A a glimpse of what she’s done at the plate throughout this season.

Third baseman Kayson Boatner drubbed Macon East’s pitching in the day’s first game. In the opening inning, Boatner slammed a softball that cleared Columbus State’s outfield fence and reached the team’s hitting facility. She came back in the eighth and delivered another home run, this one clearing the second fence and landing in the parking lot of the Cunningham Center.

Boatner’s blasts not only helped Glenwood pick up two more wins, but they’re just the latest in a home-run-filled senior year. In the midst of her first season at Glenwood, Boatner has hit 27 home runs, which leads the country according to MaxPreps.

Thanks to her work in the batter’s box, Boatner has been named the Ledger-Enquirer Female Athlete of the Week.

“It’s not only me, but it’s the coaches I have here and my teammates having my back,” Boatner said. “It’s not only me hitting but the ones around me. They make me want to do the best that I can for this team. Knowing they’ve gotten the state championship three years in a row just makes me work even harder, especially being a senior.”

Boatner transferred to Glenwood last spring after starting her career at Northside. Because she played with the Lady Patriots during fall 2016, she could practice at Glenwood but was not allowed to play in any games.

While Boatner had to wait to produce in a game, all it took was her first at-bat during preseason practice to show her new team what she was capable of.

“She gets out there, and the first one goes flying. She hit it off the top of our football press box,” Glenwood coach Dusty Perdue said. “She takes about 10 pitches, and probably seven went out of the park. To start off the day, that was a monstrosity.”

Boatner said sitting out the season was one of the hardest things she’s done, but she did what she could to help the team. Perdue said Boatner was up for any job during the 2017 season, which included being team statistician. She practiced daily then helped behind the scenes come gametime, all the while counting down until she could take the field again.

Boatner went along for the ride as Glenwood won its third consecutive state championship. More importantly, she established herself as a member of the Glenwood team.

“I think I understood the coaches better,” Boatner said. “I got closer to the girls I’ve played with this year. It was really helpful I got to meet the girls and the coaches. I understood what my role was.”

That role included playing third base, which Boatner said she hasn’t done since she was about 12 years old. As Boatner settled in at the hot corner while also working as Glenwood’s No. 2 pitcher, she continued to crush pitch after pitch as the third hitter in the lineup.

Boatner said her improvements in the mental aspect of the game have played a key role in her play this season. She talked about how important it was to come to the plate with confidence, a lesson she learned from her father Jeff, a standout baseball player and later assistant coach at Columbus High.

Perdue said he sees that swagger every time Boatner awaits the first pitch.

“She honestly believes you can’t get her out,” Perdue said. “It’s you against me, and that’s how she takes it. If you get her out, she re-approaches it the next time. She’s a student of the game.”

With 26 home runs and 71 RBIs at the plate as well as an 18-4 record in the circle, Boatner has done her part to help Glenwood contend for another state title. With the Class 3A tournament beginning next Friday, Boatner will get her shot at winning a championship instead of watching it happen like she did one year ago.

From Boatner’s perspective, she and her teammates are in a good position to get the job done.

“As a team right now, we’ve been the best I’ve seen from last year to this year,” Boatner said. “We just have to have each others’ backs and push each other 110 percent. Relying on the one’s next to us, behind us and before us is what it’s going to take.”

This story was originally published April 25, 2018 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Last spring she had to sit on the bench. Now she leads the country in home runs.."