All Bris-ness
3/25/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 25, 2002
When senior Keri Brisnehan takes off her softball jersey for the final time this May, she has a hard time believing that anything will be able to compare to her career here at Miami.
"I can't imagine a challenge harder in life than ending each day without an ounce of energy," Brisnehan said. "A job will be like a vacation to me."
Her accolades prove she has met that challenge every step of the way. Last season, she became the fourth RedHawk to earn all-region accolades and seventh to twice be named all-Mid-American Conference. Her .297 career batting average ranks third on the school's all-time list.
Despite these gaudy numbers, a conversation with Brisnehan centers on her leadership role with the RedHawks. Brisnehan claims that being a captain of Angie Jacobs' team since her sophomore year is one of the highlights of her career.
"Her greatest accomplishment at Miami is her ability to carry the team without losing her style of play or confidence," Jacobs said.
Both Brisnehan and Jacobs agree that leading this team hasn't been easy. Jacobs' predecessor, Sandy Pearsall, recruited Brisnehan out of Colorado to turn around the Miami program. Before Brisnehan showed up on campus, Jacobs was brought in from Utah to replace Pearsall.
"Coach hadn't recruited any of us. It was like we were trying out," Brisnehan said.
Brisnehan was coming off an undefeated senior season at Cherry Creek High School in Englewood, Colo., where she was named team MVP, all-conference and all-state. The adjustment to a rebuilding program in the Midwest was, as she put it, "the hardest thing I had to do in my entire life."
Jacobs relied upon Brisnehan to help lead the transition she was hoping to implement.
"Coach brought a Western influence that is very intense. She played at Berkeley and coached at Utah," Brisnehan said. "It is a 10 times more competitive attitude. She preached aggressiveness and constant communication."
Brisnehan played her high school and club softball with the same gung-ho western attitude that helped her relate to Jacobs.
"She came from a highly competitive club in high school and she knew a ton about the game," Jacobs said. "She clearly had the fundamentals and she came every day with the passion and guts to play from her background."
Jacobs knew she had a foundation on which to rebuild the program by starting Brisnehan in right field as a freshman. Brisnehan responded by leading the RedHawks in hits (53) and stolen bases (11) en route to earning second-team all-MAC recognition.
Brisnehan's first couple years were a slow evolution of the different attitude that Jacobs brought. The challenge to get every player under the new system was a process Brisnehan had to continually endure.
"My freshman season was one of the hardest I've played," Brisnehan said. "I had never played on a team that had lost. It was a mixing of the old and the new players."
Brisnehan's leadership as a freshman made it natural for her to be named a team captain as a sophomore. That year she posted a team-best 15 multi-hit games, stole 14 bases, and attained a .292 batting average, which ranked third on the team.
"I knew more what to expect as a sophomore," Brisnehan said. "We were able to get used to Coach Jacobs' style, and I was also able to really lead."
Brisnehan's breakout season came as a junior, when she was named second-team all-MAC and second-team all-region despite missing a month with a broken wrist. She also led the team and ranked sixth in the MAC with a .350 batting average.
"I definitely hit best as a junior," Brisnehan said. "I broke my hand after spring break and I was on a hitting streak. I was out for a while, but when I came back I continued on my hitting streak."
Her junior season established Brisnehan as the team's unequivocal leader, not only because of her captainship but also her productivity.
"Since she bats lead-off, she is the spark that gets us going," Jacobs said. "She is definitely a force when the game is on the line. She wants the bat in her hand or the ball hit to her."
Jacobs is not the only one who has the utmost confidence in Brisnehan when a crucial situation arises. Her teammates also recognize what she brings to the team.
"She is a huge competitor," said senior Nicki Pelfrey, the team's third baseman. "She brings it wherever she goes. She is fierce and you can see it in her eyes. She is always going to be there whether it be the big hit or making the big catch."
"I don't know what we would do without her," Jacobs said. "We wouldn't be where we are today without Keri. I wish I had 12 of her."
Countless times Brisnehan has stepped up and gotten her teammates to elevate their level of play. Jacobs calls Brisnehan "a mini-coach out on the field."
"I remember when we were playing the University of Virginia this year," Jacobs said. "The score was tied at zero in the fourth inning and she came in the dugout and she got after the team to be more aggressive and to be smart on the base paths."
Brisnehan hopes that she can finish her Miami career by collecting a Mid-American Conference championship.
"We have never had a team so much on the same page with its desire to win," Brisnehan says. "The pitching has finally come together and the non-conference schedule has prepared us to be ready for our conference."
Just as the RedHawks are hoping to continue to raise their expectations, everyone expects Brisnehan to continue to improve.
"I expect her to get better," Jacobs said. "She can help the team without being the hero, just by knowing her role. That is such an example to the younger players. She is realizing that she might not get the big hit, but she will put the ball in play or get the big defensive stop."
Brisnehan's role will be changing after the year is over. She might be coming back next season to help the team as a graduate assistant. She hopes that her playing career and her exercise science degree will pave a path for a career as a softball coach.
"I've learned a lot from behind the scenes," Brisnehan said. "My dream job would be as a head coach at a major university somewhere close to home in Colorado."
Brisnehan isn't too worried about her dream job right now, she wants to finish her Miami career as strong as she came into it. She is continuing to work on putting the RedHawk program back on the map. Through that work, she has had quite a memorable college career.
"When I look back now, I can't believe the player I used to be," Brisnehan said. "I've learned more in these four years than in my entire softball career."
Story by Matt Toy
