Annabelle Hauger — who goes by Ellie — has adopted a simple mindset to help her become one of the Colonial Valley Conference’s most feared sluggers.
“Let the pitchers come to me,” Hauger said. “I shouldn’t be scared; they should be the ones that’s scared.”
If they’re not scared, they sure should be concerned.
Batting cleanup in the middle of a powerful young batting order, Hauger has torn up CVC pitching in her sophomore season. Much of it stems from being more selective at the plate.
“Sometimes I do mess up a little bit but last year I was trying to swing at any pitch I could,” Hauger recalled. “This year I’m more like ‘I have time, they have to pitch to me.’ I’m way more confident in the box. Last year I was a little more timid against these pitchers. Now I’m trying to find my pitch and have confidence to hit it.”
It seems to be working.
As a freshman, Hauger hit a respectable .270 with six doubles, a triple and 13 RBI.
As of May 18 this year, the outfielder led the CVC in home runs (7) and slugging percentage (.968) . She was second in RBI (34); third behind teammates Emilija Pociute (1.467) and Madison Spiteri (1.429) in OPS with a 1.423 mark, tied for fourth in doubles (9), 15th in hits (37) and 19th in average (.429).
Coach Jeff Schattin, who saw Hauger from the opposing dugout as a Notre Dame assistant last year, said she was “a work in progress” in the preseason.
“I think some of the things we’re working on mechanically have started to pay off,” Schattin said. “And as with anything I told her confidence is 90 percent of the game. The more they succeed the more confident they get. It just reverberates.
That self-assurance was on full display in the season opener. After having just three multiple-hit games last season — with three hits being her high — Hauger started ’26 by going 4-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI in an 11-10 win over Hopewell Valley.
Through the Cardinals 10-9 starter, she had eight multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games (with a high of five against Peddie). In a six-game span from May 7-15, Hauger collected four homers, three doubles and 15 RBI in helping Lawrence go 4-2.
“Ellie means a heck of a lot to our lineup,” Schattin said. “She’s been tearing it up on the field and off the field she’s a great leader.”
And just where did this power come from?
“Her body turn definitely is there,” Schattin said. “She’s opening up her hips and she’s a big kid on top of it.”
Hauger’s run-producing numbers are enhanced by the hitters directly in front of her and behind her. Sophomore catcher Spitieri bats third and was second in the CVC in hitting at .563 in mid-May. Freshman third baseman/pitcher Pociute bats fifth and led the conference in hitting at .587. Spitieri led in walks (19) and on-base percentage (.700) and Pociute was second in OBP (.594).
“We’ve got two nice table setters in Hope (Lestician) and Grace (Tyliczka),” Schattin said. “And then you’ve got those three in a row. You can’t pitch away from them. They really complement each other.”
Hauger loves the position she is in, knowing she has to get a pitch one way or another.
“Madison walks so much and you’ve gotta throw her perfect pitch or she’s gonna hit it,” Hauger said. “She’s usually on base so that gives me an advantage because going up there I don’t see as many balls because they don’t want to walk me and put someone else on.
“And behind me Emilija has a lot of talent, especially for a freshman. They know that if I get on she’s gonna bring me in. So they gotta give me something because they don’t want to walk me.”
If it sounds like Hauger is a student of the game, it’s because she is. She has worked hard on being able to understand the strike zone better. Chasing pitches was a problem last year, but one she has improved upon this season.
That comes from studying teammates and players at the next level.
“I watch a lot of softball,” Hauger said. “Watching Madison it’s like ‘I can have control over my zone’ and I think I’ve gotten more confident in seeing the ones I want to swing at.
“I like to watch myself hit and I watch college softball. I definitely learn from that. I watch videos back of them over the summer to see their strike zone. I watch a lot a lot of Bri Ellis (Arkansas’s National Player of the Year) and seeing just how talented she was and how she waits for her pitch to come to her. I kind of worked with that. I also watched how they adjust to pitchers. Adjusting to speed, or outside/inside or high/low, and different kind of pitches too.”
Hauger followed her brother Ben (now a Cardinals golfer) on to the diamond as a 5-year-old.
“He kind of switched up sports, but he had a really strong passion for baseball for a while,” Hauger said. “We used to go out and play catch and he taught me a lot of what I know about the sport.”
Ellie played for Lawrence rec before moving to the Hamilton Hurricanes. In fifth grade she decided to forego softball in order to focus on her career as a soccer goalie.
“I was really dedicated to soccer,” she said. “But over middle school I got the love of my game back. I was never burned out on softball I just wanted to focus on soccer but then I found my calling again. I thought it would be a lot to play travel soccer and softball. I found my passion again; I picked it up and ever since then I loved the sport.”
She returned to play travel for the Ewing Edge and is currently on the highly-touted Mavericks, which helps with her confidence. Hauger was an outfielder throughout travel. Last year, then-coach Dana Williams asked her to play first base and she did so without question.
While it’s tough to play a new position being a freshman on varsity, Hauger was helped by the fact she was surrounded by classmates.
“I think having five or six freshmen with me helped ease me through,” she said. “We all had each other’s back going into it and that helped us integrate into the team. We had good chemistry there.”
After one year at first, Schattin moved her back out to right field.
“She’s a consummate team player,” the coach said. “We had a need in rightfield and she just goes all out in practice, diving all over the place. I don’t know if it’s because she’s a goalkeeper, but she really is quite a leader. Not a verbal leader but a leader in the way she plays the game and practices.”
Hauger feels playing in net does have something to do with her glove work.
“Playing goalie definitely helps a lot in the outfield with diving and stuff,” she said. “Last year Williams knew I could play first base and that’s where she needed me. I had to learn to play first base. Moving back to the outfield I felt really comfortable. That’s my zone. I just needed to learn how to play position a little bit.”
Schattin calls her a natural defender who can play any outfield position. At the plate, Hauger wants to make some tweaks.
“I’m still really aggressive,” she said. “I need to work a little bit more on selection but I’ve improved on hitting the ones I know I can hit.”
Apparently, Hauger can do whatever she sets her mind to. Aside from playing softball all spring she also practices for her travel soccer team twice a week and plays games on weekends. But that doesn’t detract from her school work as she has a 4.2 grade point average while taking AP and honors classes.
She is also in Morgan’s Message, a mental health club at Lawrence. And in planning for a future in law, she belongs to the Advocates for Innocence Club.
Asked how she was able to plan her future at a young age, Hauger said. “I’ve always wanted to help people and that just had a calling for me.”
Lawrence softball opponents should not be fooled by that. Hauger wants to help people off the field. At the plate, she’s happy to make pitchers scared of her.
