A former pinch runner is now a top UNLV hitter

A former pinch runner is now UNLV's top hitter

Bridget Byrne practiced with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, softball team for close to two months before being told she'd earned a spot on the squad as a walk-on, albeit as a pinch runner.

"They said they'd look at me in a pinch runner role, but that was OK with me, because I knew down the road I'd get my chance," said Byrne, a four-year letter winner at Silverado High School.

Byrne, who earned all-state honors her senior year on the Skyhawks, when she hit .316 and stole 21 bases, did more than just pinch run for the Rebels, though, as she played her way into the starting left field job her freshman year.

"Someone made an error and I got my chance and ran with it," she said.

Byrne, who started 33 games as a freshman, has never looked back, starting every game in left field the last two seasons, 173 straight to date, and finally earning a scholarship last year.

"It was good to know all those morning workouts and practices were worth it," she said. "It was nice to get a little reward for all the time and effort, but it's really not about that. I love to play."

Byrne's passion for the game, and for life, is apparent to all who come in contact with the happy-go-lucky senior, who is always smiling and laughing.

Her passion for softball has paid dividends this season for the Rebels (22-27), as she's leading the team in hitting, and is second in the Mountain West Conference, with a .414 batting average from the leadoff spot -- close to 200 points better than her first three seasons.

Byrne, a slap hitter, hit just .193 as a freshman and hit in the low .200s the past two years.

"The light bulb clicked and it was time to get it done. I like to keep people waiting in suspense," she joked. "I got on kind of a roll there during tourney play and a major key was I just slowed my feet down.

"I'm a slap hitter and just getting my rhythm through the box helped me see the ball a lot better. It's a cliche, but the harder you work, the better you play."

Byrne, the consummate team player, said her individual goal this season was to lead the team in on-base percentage, which she does, at .439. She also leads the Rebels with 10 stolen bases and has made only two errors in the outfield.

First-year Rebels head coach Lonni Alameda said she isn't surprised by Byrne's improvement this year.

"Because of her work ethic, I'm not surprised," she said. "Our offices are near the field and, the first week I was here, I walked out and saw someone, with a bucket of balls, throwing into the net making her arm stronger. The first person I met when I came here was our senior, Bridget Byrne.

"It was 110 degrees out in July, and she's out there making herself better. She's always upbeat and she's a leader by example."

Alameda praised Byrne's range in the outfield and patience at the plate, and said her ascent from walk-on player to starter and leading hitter is an inspiration to the entire team.

"In college athletics, you have a desire as a coach to have a kid walk on and become a starter," she said. "We treat them all the same between the lines, when you're wearing that Rebel uniform, but she gives inspiration to everyone."

Byrne, who helped lead Silverado to three straight zone titles and to second place in the state in 1999, may be even more impressive off the field, where she has earned academic all-Mountain West Conference honors her first three years at UNLV.

A self-described perfectionist, Byrne is almost embarrassed to admit to earning a 3.96 grade-point average in high school. She also is upset she had one B amid all A's.

Byrne, who originally attended UNLV on the state's Millennium Scholarship, has a double-major of Spanish and international business and will travel to Spain in the fall before graduating next spring.

Her grades have slipped a bit in college, by her standards, to a 3.66 GPA.

"Earning a degree is what's really important to me," she said. "Softball will be over and that's sad, but you need that higher education to get out in the working world."

A member of the UNLV Honors College, Byrne was named the top female student-athlete at UNLV in 2002, when she had a 3.93 GPA.

She also is a member of the school's student-athlete advisory board, for which she recently conducted a softball clinic for area youth and then took part in Nevada Reading Week.

"I try to get out and help the community," she said.

Alameda said Byrne is the ideal student-athlete.

"She does things right in the classroom and she does a lot of community stuff. When anyone asks for anything, she's there," Alameda said. "She's the true meaning of a team player. This program wants to excel in the classroom and the community and I can see us giving out a Bridget Byrne award because of what she does."

The Rebels host Brigham Young University Thursday, in a 5 p.m. doubleheader, and will honor Byrne and other seniors in their regular-season finale Saturday, in a 5 p.m. doubleheader against Utah.

Byrne hopes to lead the Rebels to an improbable MWC title later this month to cap off her career in style.

"We have a legitimate shot to do that this year," she said. "It's a whole different story now. Our new coaches are awesome and it's a whole new feel."


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