 file photo by dan fletcher/the daily northwestern. When Tammy Williams arrived at NU in 2005, her natural position was at pitcher. But coach Kate Drohan had other ideas, moving her to shortstop. Williams has excelled at that spot, leading the Wildcats with a .457 batting average this season.
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Northwestern shortstop Tammy Williams dug into the circle, shook off the catcher and hurled a fastball by an opposing slugger.
Though difficult to imagine, that was reality for Williams just four years ago. She had pitched throughout her softball career, but going into college she knew she did not want to do it anymore.
"I was originally going to go to a smaller school and be a pitcher until I could play infield," Williams said. "I didn't want to pitch anymore, so I would have gone to a smaller school for a year and hopefully transferred from there."
But just weeks before school began in 2005, Williams committed to attend NU. Coach Kate Drohan had a void to fill at the shortstop position and was impressed with what she saw in Williams.
"We needed her to be a shortstop, so we converted her," Drohan said. "I saw her play two games at third base and her range was in the dugout, and I said: 'We have to put this kid in the middle of the field.'"
Williams eased seamlessly into the starting shortstop position, playing every game her freshman year while batting in the top third of the order all season. She set a school record for home runs, with 14, while batting .377 and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
In her sophomore campaign, Williams increased her home run total to 16 and her batting average to .425. Additionally, she began to take on a leadership role. She mentored fellow middle infielder Nicole Pauly, who went on to succeed Williams as the conference's top freshman.
"When I came in last year, Tammy was the one that was kind of in my right pocket all the time," Pauly said. "She was really the one that made me step up and play like I wasn't a freshman anymore."
This year, Williams has continued to lead her team on and off the field. Everyone from freshman Robin Thompson to sophomore ace Lauren Delaney has said that the shortstop contributes to their success.
2008 Woodie Awards
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