Carson City’s Purcell making strong first impression

Carson’s Purcell to start at first base for Wolf Pack

RENO — When Nevada’s softball squad opens its 2015 season Friday at the Kajikawa Classic against Fordham, a familiar face is going to be in the Pack’s starting lineup.

Jen Purcell, who terrorized Northern Nevada pitching for four years at Carson High School, has won the job at first base. She hit .429 with nine homers and 61 RBI last year.

“It’s exciting.” Purcell said earlier this week at Nevada Media Day activities. “Coach called me into his office this fall and told me I would be starting.”

It may be a surprise to some people, but not to coach Matt Meuchel.

“She was always the dark horse to start,” said the veteran Nevada coach. “I’m not shocked by anything that has happened since she came in. She kind of flew under the radar. I think there are going to be a lot of schools who will be sorry they didn’t recruit her.

“I think she is going to have a good career here. She is going to have her ups and downs like any freshman.”

Purcell almost flew under Nevada’s radar. The former Carson star played travel ball in San Jose for San Jose State coach Peter Turner.

Most schools, including Nevada, just assumed she would play for San Jose State. Purcell visited SJSU, but didn’t get a great feel for the place. As recruiting interest picked up during her junior year, Purcell still hadn’t received any word from Nevada.

It was only after a travel ball tournament in 2013 when Purcell hit a double, triple and grand slam with Meuchel in attendance, she finally heard from the Wolf Pack.

“The next morning I received an e-mail asking him if I could meet him in his office,” Purcell said. “We talked about stuff, they made an offer and I gave them a verbal before Thanksgiving (2013).”

“She had been on our radar for a while,” Meuchel said. “I remember her coming to our camps when she was 12 or 13. That gave us the ability to track her, and she always stood out.”

Meuchel said when he recruited her she would play based on the need of the roster. Obviously the need was more in the infield than outfield. Purcell and fellow freshman Alyssa Mendez flank all-Mountain West players Karley Hopkins and Megan Sweet.

“I’m excited about playing first base,” Purcell said. “I think it’s a natural spot for me. It’s kind of new to me. I played some at Carson and during travel ball, but mostly I was in the outfield. You’re more involved (at first compared to the outfield). You can be involved with every pitch. In the outfield there isn’t a lot going on.”

Purcell said it’s been a learning process, and she has worked on groundball mechanics, and catching the ball one-handed instead of using two hands. She’s learning on the job and loving every minute of it. She’s been like a sponge absorbing information from Meuchel and assistant coaches Josh Taylor and Andy Dominique, the team’s hitting coach.

The easiest transition will be on the offensive side of the game. That’s where Purcell has made a name for herself.

“She is a natural hitter,” Meuchel said on signing day last year. “There is no other way to explain it. She has a lot of raw power. Her challenge at the next level is consistency. You see considerably better pitching. Even at the club level you see mediocre pitching. It doesn’t take much to put a club team together. You have to make sure you have a consistent approach.”

That is vital, and so is using the entire field and having the proper mechanics. That’s what Dominique has been working on with Purcell on since fall ball.

“We’ve been working on getting her hands and hips through the ball,” Dominique said. “I’m not sure many people know how to use the whole field. It’s a thing they have to develop.”

And, it’s not easy going from being a dead pull hitter to hitting the ball to center and left.

“I’ve always pulled the ball with a lot of power,” Purcell said. “I have no problem with it. They are just trying to make me a better hitter (all around). He (Dominque) doesn’t want me to hit the ball on the ground. He said I lose too much power.

“Last week in scrimmages, I worked on going deeper in counts; seeing more pitches.”

Purcell has a true hitting mentality. She thinks she should hit get a hit each time up, and she gets ticked when she doesn’t. At times at Carson, she would take plate failures out to the field.

“I’ve made a lot of progress in that area,” she said. “I did a lot of mental games in the fall. We have a saying here, “plan to fail and fail to plan.” I understand that. You don’t let it (one failure) affect the next at-bat.”

And, anybody who will see a Nevada game this season will see a different Purcell.

She has shed 35 pounds through diet and exercise, and it’s noticeable.

“I started last May,” Purcell said. “I did it for personal reasons. The coaches at Nevada never said anything to me. I feel quicker and a lot lighter on my feet. It’s changed my life.”

It’s a change that might make more of a difference when Purcell is running bases more so than playing first base, according to Meuchel.

The coach also said the weight loss will help Purcell deal with the rigors of playing 50-plus games in a short span of time, which will include multiple games per day during the tournament part of the schedule.