TAMPA, Fla. — USF redshirt freshman pitcher Payton Dixon knew she was pitching well in the regular season finale at Houston. She just didn't know how well. It wasn't until head coach Ken Eriksen visited her in the fifth inning that she knew was working a no-hitter."
"I honestly didn’t even know I was throwing one until [head coach Ken Eriksen] came out in the last inning and told me I needed to get my stuff together," Dixon said before Tuesday's practice.
"I told her to stop messing around. I mean, you’re playing with your food right now," Eriksen joked. "Let’s go at the hitters. You’ve been pounding the [strike zone] all day and been pretty successful."
Dixon finished the job and notched her first career no-no. She said she considers it a team accomplishment and not an individual accolade.
"I just trusted my defense, and I knew they had my back."
"When she gets locked in, the scoreboard doesn’t really matter," Eriksen explained. "It’s what she’s doing in the moment. If you can get young people to understand that, they’d be a hell of a lot better."
Payton says she just takes the same approach to every contest.
"I look at every game the same," she added. "I don’t change my mindset because it’s conference play or tournament play. You go hard every game."
Senior Vivian Ponn's been one of the Bulls' best hitters and relief pitchers all season. She's batting .300 and is tied for the team lead with eight home runs. The Fort Myers native is also 3-1 in the circle.
She knows it'll take contributions from everyone if they want to raise the AAC tournament champion trophy.
"We’re working really well together. I think that if we keep that up, we’ll be really successful this weekend," Ponn said before batting practice. "Taking every pitch one pitch at a time. Rolling with the punches for whatever comes our way. We’re going to get it this weekend, so we’re excited."
Ponn wants her softball career to last as long as possible. But when she hangs up the uniform, she'll be ready to help other people pick their ideal look. Ponn has a job waiting for her at the Tom James Company, a world-renowned custom clothing distributor.
"I’m really excited about the fashion piece about it just because I love shopping, haha! I love that part about it, and helping other people out is always a plus," she said. "Suits, jeans, dresses, blouses, pants- they do it all."
Coach Eriksen joked that he won't be in a hurry to see her come back for any alumni events.
"I’m just afraid that when she comes back after not being around here for a year, she’s gonna critique everything that I wear," he laughed. "So yeah, I got a feeling that next year the whole coaching outfit changes."
USF is hosting this year's AAC tournament. The Bulls open play Thursday at 5 P.M. against East Carolina.
