Athlete of the Month sponsored by Indian Head Athletics

Rarely, said Lisa-Ann Wallace, does a college coach find an athlete who exhibits exceptional on-field prowess while still allotting sufficient time to handle a challenging course load.

Yet that’s exactly what the Bryant University softball coach said she’s discovered in Kate Thomas, a junior right fielder from Bedford who leads her team’s offense batting in the middle of the order – usually from the No. 3 spot.

“What Kate does is every time she throws the ball, she throws it hard, and every time she swings, she swings hard,” said Wallace. “That’s what you want. You want someone to maintain that intensity whether its seven innings or 14 innings for us.

“She’s come up with some pretty clutch hits over the last few years,” continued Wallace. “She has a lot of power and hits to all sides of field.”

At least as important, Thomas majors in actuarial mathematics, which Wallace said is – by far – the most difficult degree to obtain at Bryant. She also minors in business administration.

On average, four to nine students graduate with a degree in actuarial mathematics per year at Bryant, and only two or three are female, said Wallace.

“Kate goes out on the field and plays hard and plays like a kid and then excels in the classroom, and that’s really a tribute to her dedication because that’s not easy,” said her coach.

Thomas, who maintains a 3.41 grade-point average, was recently named to the Northeast- 10 Conference all-academic second team.

But it’s her successes on the diamond that continue to earn her accolades, including NE-10 player of the week honors earlier this season.

Through 31 games, Thomas leads Bryant with a .550 slugging percentage, 19 RBI and 11 extra-base hits.

For her continued high level of play, and for leading her team on a 17-game winning streak in the month of April, Thomas has been named the Indian Head Athletics Athlete of the Month.

“It’s unreal, just getting a hit and knowing that what you just did contributed to winning a close game,” said Thomas. “There’s no better feeling than running back to the bench with a smile on your face, especially knowing it was something you did to achieve a goal.”

It hasn’t always been easy. Thomas said she’s had her struggles and has been discouraged on several occasions, but it’s the camaraderie of her high school and college teammates, and the love and support of her parents, that’s helped her persevere.

“I’d leave some practices or games and come home crying because I didn’t do well or I didn’t get a hit, but my parents were always there to either tell me to get over myself or let me know my time would come.”

Her time has indeed come.

Though Wallace freely admitted she has difficulty remembering scores from the previous week’s games, she said she still vividly recalls Thomas’ first big hit.

Pinch hitting in a tight contest against St. Rose her freshman season, Thomas stood in the box, eyed the pitcher and drove a solid pitch over the outfield wall for her first college home run.

The dinger put Bryant ahead in the contest for good. “It’s rare for a freshman to show that kind of power and fearlessness – to swing that hard. Some kids are a little tentative,” said Wallace. “But Kate has no intentions of being tentative. Her desire is to crush the ball every time she makes contact.”

If the last few years have proven nothing else, Thomas continues to make plenty of solid contact.

(Editor’s note: The Athlete of the Month receives a $50 gift certificate courtesy of Indian Head Athletics.)