OU softball's Kinzie Hansen comes through injury better than ever, on and off the field
NORMAN — A knee injury took most of Kinzie Hansen’s junior season.
Sure, the OU catcher was still able to play 52 games last season, helping the Sooners to yet another Women’s College World Series title.
But Hansen clearly wasn’t herself, even long after she returned from the early season injury.
“I learned a lot about myself and about who I am as a teammate,” Hansen said. “I think that if I could go back and not hurt myself, I’m not sure that I would do it because of the growth that I’ve seen in myself.
“I wouldn’t have that if I didn’t get hurt.”
After missing the first nine games of this season following surgery on her appendix, Hansen returned for last weekend’s Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in California with the lessons from her absence on full display.
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Hansen lingered in the dugout a bit after games, checking up on teammates, offering a hand if they needed help carrying their gear and doing what she could to make her presence felt off the field as well as on.
“She’s become a very good vocal leader,” Sooners coach Patty Gasso said. “Just doing little things, caring about the team, and I think people recognize that. She is on a mission. Last year her injuries really kept the season away from her that she wanted. She’s determined.”
After hitting .431 with 28 home runs in her first two seasons in Norman, Hansen hit just .273 with eight home runs last season.
But now back healthy, Hansen is having plenty of impact on and off the field.
Hansen and the top-ranked Sooners (13-1) open their home schedule Friday with a doubleheader against Illinois-Chicago (3 p.m.) and No. 17 Kentucky (5:30 p.m.) at Marita Hynes Field.
“I was just so happy to be with the team,” Hansen said. “They’re all so good and I had so much fun.
“It wasn’t really about the outcomes for me. I just wanted to go and play hard and be with them and it was a joy to be back.”
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It might not’ve been about the outcomes for Hansen, but they were certainly there.
In five games last weekend, Hansen was 4 of 13 with two home runs — both against UCLA — and nine RBIs.
Hansen also made her mark behind the plate.
“Sophia (Nugent)’s done a fantastic job, as Haley Lee has as well, but Hansen has just a different air about her,” Gasso said. “It’s her size, it’s her strength, and it’s the strength of her arm. It’s the comfort level she has with pitchers, it’s her ability to keep balls in front, it’s her leadership, it’s her voice.
“We all felt that. It’s different.”
She’s particularly formed a bond with Michigan transfer pitcher Alex Storako.
“Me and Kinzie are best friends so just having that kind of connection where we know each other on another level was really exciting,” Storako said. “She’s a big leader and an example for them. Having her out on the field has been fun but also just being able to step into the lineup was also huge.”
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After last season, Hansen took some time off before spending time with the USA Softball Women’s National Team.
The break before allowed Hansen’s knee to finally get healthy.
It also continued Hansen’s mental growth.
“What I learned from the whole experience is that softball’s so much bigger than myself,” Hansen said. “It’s not about me hitting 24 home runs or, you know. It’s about being a good teammate and being a good leader because in 10 years I hope that I’m invited to everybody’s wedding because I was a good person, not because I was a good athlete.
"Catching Monica Abbott and learning from all of those amazing women, about their mentality, not even the way they play, because they’re amazing on the field obviously, but they’re amazing people and learning about their mentality and their approach and who they are as women and wives and mothers and all that stuff.”
Hansen woke up a few days before the season opener and “couldn’t walk” after being fine at practice the day before.
Eventually, it became clear that she’d need surgery, a first for her.
But now that she’s recovered from that, Hansen feels as good physically as she has in awhile.
“My knees feel great,” Hansen said. “I could run for (however long) and feel great afterward. So that’s fantastic.”
OU tournament
At Marita Hynes Field in Norman (all games on ESPN+):
Friday's games: OU vs. UIC, 3 p.m.; OU vs. Kentucky, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday's games: OU vs. Kentucky, 3 p.m.; OU vs. UIC, 5:30 p.m.
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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU softball: Kinzie Hansen comes through injury better than ever
