North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Pack's HR Champ Inspired By Bonds
4/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH What does one home-run champion have to do to get the attention of another? Anyone with suggestions, let NC State senior third baseman Jen Chamberlin know. Chamberlin, who broke the Atlantic Coast Conference softball home-run record earlier this month when she smacked the 47th of her career at Boston College, is already a member of Barry Bonds’ on-line fan club.
She goes to see Bonds play every time she goes home to San Mateo, Calif., just 20 minutes south of San Francisco and a quick ride to AT&T Park. Getting in was easy, since Chamberlin and her family are long-time season-ticket holders. And she wears an orange-and-black Bonds’ wristband at all times.
“He is my idol,” Chamberlin said. “What I like about him is that he gives everything that he has on every pitch. He is not up there second-guessing a pitch no half- or check-swings.” And that’s the way Chamberlin has tried to play in her four years at NC State’s top softball slugger. It was never her goal to break records there were not at NC State when she arrived but every time she steps into the box, she is looking to swing aggressively and provide her team with some offense.
“I had no idea what the [league] records were when I got here,” Chamberlin said. “I didn’t even know until my junior year that I was on pace to break it. The record has never been important to me. I have never gone into the box saying I have to hit a home run, I have to hit a home run, I need to hit a home run.’ “It just happens.”
Often, at that. Chamberlin has been remarkably consistent, hitting 12 homers as a freshman, 11 as a sophomore, 13 as a junior and 12 so far as a senior. During that time, she has also driven in 149 runs, as the Wolfpack made a remarkable three-year run from startup to ACC regular-season and tournament champions. And those titles are what Chamberlin relishes the more than her individual accomplishments. “The feeling on the field after beating Florida State for the ACC Championship is the feeling that is going to stay with me forever,” Chamberlin said. “Yeah, I remember the home run I hit [against Boston College to break the record], but it doesn’t compare to running to the shortstop, who is my best friend on the team, and hugging her and having that feeling of excitement. We did that all together, and that means so much more than the home run record.”
Coming off a three-game sweep of arch-rival North Carolina, the Wolfpack (39-16, 13-5 ACC) has shaken off some early season missteps and put itself back in position to win the ACC regular season. Coach Lisa Navas’ team sits in second place behind Virginia Tech as it heads to Maryland Saturday for its final ACC series of the regular season. A sweep of the Terps, combined with one loss by the Hokies would give the Wolfpack its second consecutive ACC title. “We are playing so well together right now,” Chamberlin said. “Everybody is contributing. We are playing really good defense for our pitching staff. We struggled early in the season with our defense, but right now that is not the case.”
For Navas, landing Chamberlin, along with twins Shaina and Miranda Ervin and pitcher Abbie Sims, was an essential piece in building a championship program. Navas first saw Chamberlin at a Stanford youth softball camp, which she had attended every year since she was 9 years old. Following Chamberlin’s junior year of high school, Navas had become the head coach of NC State’s new program, though the team wasn’t set to play for another year. Chamberlin was being recruited by several California schools Santa Clara, UC-Davis, Sacramento State but she had connected so well with Navas, she had no qualms about making the transcontinental move to North Carolina.
“I just liked her mindset, everything she said to me,” Chamberlin said. “She told me, All I know is winning.’ She said it would take a lot of hard work, but that I could make an impact on the team.” And Chamberlin liked the idea of helping establish a new program. Since her mom worked for United Airlines, Chamberlin knew that she wouldn’t be too far removed from her family.
“I wanted to get away,” Chamberlin said. “Most people want to go to California. I wanted to get away and become my own person.” Navas saw something special in Chamberlin, who played outfield and pitched in high school. As a freshman, Chamberlin started in right field in the program's first game. But she was eventually converted to a third baseman, and has played most of her career at that position.
“I don’t think a lot of people recognized her power,” Navas said. “But when we were at camps and were picking teams to scrimmage, she was always the first player taken because of her offense. She has such power.” To be honest, Chamberlin hasn’t lived up to Navas’ expectations. “I told her I expected 20 home runs,” Navas said with a laugh. “But she has been pretty consistent.”
Chamberlin still has, at minimum, a half dozen games remaining with this weekend’s series at Maryland, the ACC Tournament May 10-13 in Tallahassee and a possible second bid to the NCAA Tournament. So reaching Navas’ goal isn’t out of the question. Maybe watching Bonds, as he closes in on Hank Aaron’s major league of 755 home runs, will inspire Chamberlin to get there.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
