Now Jessica and Jacque Adams pitch and play first base for a Bryan squad tied for first in District 14-6A with three games remaining in the regular season. Jessica Adams already has made school history with a record 13 home runs this season, and she’s tied with former Texas A&M softball player Reagan Boenker for the Bryan career home run total with 19.
“It’s amazing, but I’m also not surprised because even when we were younger she would hit home runs left and right,” Jacque Adams said. “We always knew that she was the one who would make that shift in the game.”
When they were 12 years old, the Adams twins played with several of their current Lady Viking teammates, who were 15 at the time. Jacque Adams fondly remembers winning a 16-and-under tournament with that squad, and she and Jessica Adams said those experiences have made their Bryan squad tighter.
“Being able to bond, that’s really what’s helping us [handle] clutch situations,” Jessica Adams said. “It’s just having that chemistry and knowing we can make the plays that we can.”
They’ve been well-known in the softball community for a while, and that notoriety drives them to improve. It’s shown in their stat lines between their freshman and sophomore years. Jessica Adams’ batting average currently sits at .438, nearly 100 points higher than her freshman mark, and she has a 1.000 slugging percentage. Jacque Adams’ average is .340, eight points higher than last year, and she already has equaled her freshman home run total (three) and hit more doubles with eight.
“I see my role as bringing in the runners, trying to get whatever I can in and just helping other girls out,” Jacque Adams said.
Jessica Adams leads off while Jacque Adams bats either third or fourth. Bryan head coach Enrique Luna drew inspiration from the Aggies batting power hitter Tori Vidales in the leadoff spot for his lineup.
“It’s one of those things that I took to mind that, hey, she has a good eye for the ball, so she gets a lot of walks,” Luna said. “They can’t really pitch around her, whereas when she was in the three-hole like we had her before, they could possibly pitch around her. But right off the bat, you’ve got to pitch to her or you’re going to put a runner on base, and we’ll take our chances with what we’ve got behind her.”
Jacque Adams caught for her sister growing up but plays first base because the Lady Vikings have a three-year starter behind the plate in senior Brenda Sanchez. Jacque said she loves her new position, and having first baseman with a catcher’s mentality of stopping every ball has served Bryan well.
“She’s a very good first baseman,” Luna said. “With us having Brenda as a three-year starter, it’s helpful for us to have someone like that. She’s very mobile over there. She does a great job picking balls up, and a lot of times she’ll make plays that normal first basemen aren’t going to make. We don’t make a lot of mistakes because of her.”
Jacque Adams boasts a .988 fielding percentage, and Bryan’s entire defensive unit is reassuring for Jessica Adams when she’s in the circle. This season, she’s worked on putting more spin on her pitches and improving her offspeed pitches. She’s taken a couple miles per hour off her change-up and is throwing it about 48-50 mph to offset her 65-mph fastball. Since a lot of opposing batters are going to be late on her fastball, Jacque Adams knows she has to be ready for balls hit to the right side.
“I don’t really have to worry about anything because I know they’re going to make the plays,” Jessica Adams said. “Any time that they do swing late, I know they’ll make the plays.”
Jessica is 18-5 with a 1.03 ERA, 174 strikeouts and just 25 walks this season.
Jacque Adams can’t wait for the day college coaches can contact her. Along with playing college softball, she wants to work in ... Click here to read full article
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