Senior Becky Smith, shown hitting in the Miners' contest against Southern Miss, has used her strength and perseverance to lead the UTEP softball team this season. (Image: Jeff Taylor)

To say Becky Smith is strong would be an understatement. Senior outfielder Smith may be the very definition of strength, particularly for the UTEP softball team.

Smith joined the team after transferring from Tallahassee Community College, where she was a catcher. Her success in Tallahassee caught Coach Kathleen Rodriguez’s back in 2008.

Once with the Miners, Smith’s talents and abilities only improved. In the 2009 season, Smith, not only started in all 57 Miner softball games, but she was also named to the Conference USA All-Tournament team after going 5-for-12 with six runs during the C-USA Tournament.

During her junior season, Smith amassed a season batting average of .250 with seven doubles, two home runs and five RBIs. In addition, Smith posted a field percentage of .911. And though this was her first season with UTEP, Smith quickly became an integral part of the team.

But then disaster hit; Smith suffered a season-ending knee injury prior to the start of the 2010 season. What was supposed to be her senior year, her year to help lead the Miners to victory, instead became a year when Smith sat in the dugout and watched the injury-riddled Miners go another season without reaching their full potential.

“It takes a pretty special person to come from an injury like that,” Coach Rodriguez said. “I walked in [after her injury]; she was a mess; and this is the kind of kid Becky is, she looked at me and said sorry. She had blown out her knee, and she was apologizing as if it was her fault.”

In spite of the severity of her injury, Smith was determined to come back this season. Having been given a medical redshirt in 2010, Smith had the opportunity to do what she had missed out on the previous year.

“Talk about a huge loss last year,” said Rodriguez. “Our team was a mess [after Smith’s injury]; I had to reel them all in, gather them altogether. But Becky made it perfectly clear that she was going to come back.”

Smith did just that so that she could lead the team like she had been doing so since her arrival at UTEP. And though this had been a less than stellar year for the Miners, Smith has been out there on the field giving her all while encouraging her teammates to do the same.

“She was running with the knee brace in the fall, doing all the rehab. Just working on it, working on it,” Rodriguez said. “And then before you know it, I come out one day and the knee brace is off. She knew she was better. It says a lot about the kind of player, leader, she is.”

This season, Smith has been positioned as an outfielder, not a catcher, but she has not complained. Instead, she has stepped up, learned the necessary skills to be successful, and led by example. And with a tough, injury-laden season almost over, Smith’s perseverance is just what the Miners have needed.

“There is no drama with her. She just goes after it,” Rodriguez said. “For her, it’s ‘I’m going to get here, I’m going to give you 110% of everything I have, and I’m going to love every single one of my teammates and coaches.’”

When asked to describe Smith in one word, Coach Rodriguez couldn’t.

“Can I have a few words for her?” said Rodriguez. “Loyalty, dedication, commitment.”

Undoubtedly, this shows what an asset Smith has been to the Miners softball team. She will be missed next season; one can only hope that her strength has rubbed off on her teammates so that they may follow in her successful footsteps.

Rebecca Frazier can be reached at show@minerillustrated.com.