'Sky is the limit' for freshman Dakota Kennedy as UA faces ASU in Pac-12 play-in game

Dakota Kennedy prepared for this moment her entire life — well, at least since she started playing softball around age 7.

First it was soccer, then baseball, but once she found softball, it stuck. Mike Candrea Field at Hillenbrand Stadium is exactly where she is supposed to be.

Once she moved into the starting lineup in left field, she never looked back in this, her rookie season as a Wildcat.

No adjustments to collegiate softball, no feeling overwhelmed playing for Arizona, which has been one of the elite programs in the country.

“I think it’s just knowing who I am and knowing I’m here for a reason; I belong,” Kennedy said. “Also, my teammates just having my back. They believe in me, the coaches believing in me, my family, all my supporters believing in me. Just knowing I can be here.

“If there was any weight on my shoulders, it just takes it all off. Because I’m so comfortable playing the game I love.”

Her teammates are relying on Kennedy to bring that quiet confidence, along with her loud bat, when No. 8 seed Arizona faces No. 9 seed ASU in the play-in game of the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Hillenbrand. The winner of that game will play No. 1 seed UCLA at 4 p.m. Thursday.

Coming to Arizona from Sacramento, California, Kennedy was ranked No. 4 in the nation by Extra Inning Softball and the No. 1 center fielder. She has proved to be one of the top freshmen in the country.

Kennedy, who has started 47 of 51 games this season, has a slash line of .357/.451/.636. She is tied for 11th in the Pac-12 with 10 home runs – her most recent a three-run blast in Sunday’s 9-4 win over Cal. She has 50 hits — including a couple of grand slams, two triples, five doubles — and driven in 35 runs.

“The sky is the limit, I think everyone can see that,” Arizona coach Caitlin Lowe said. “She’s truly done nothing but get better every single day, and I know people see her at bat, but defensively too. She’s been able to throw some people out. She knows the game. She’s smart. She’s always soaking up information.

“And it’s kind of funny, she’s one of those people you’re not sure what she’s taking in. But at the end of the day, she comes back and she’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, sat on that changeup to the opposite field.’ (It’s) great she’s learning that her freshman year.”

Kennedy takes pride in working on hitting, whether it’s talking to teammates Allie Skaggs and fellow freshman Olivia DiNardo, spending hours with her coaches or even on her own to prefect her swing and her approach for each at-bat. Kennedy especially likes that she is a dual-threat at the plate — she can throw down a perfectly placed bunt or hit away — and it keeps the defense off-balance.

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Her approach, whether she is hitting or fielding — she has only one error this season — is the same: “Ffocus on the task at hand when you’re doing it.”

“When I’m in the field, I’m not worried about anything else. I’m worried about being the best in my position,” Kennedy said. “When I’m up to bat, whether I’m bunting or I’m hitting, I’m focusing on just that. If I’m bunting, I’m focusing on how I want to get the ball down. I’m not worried about how I’m going to hit the ball next, I’m focused exactly on that. Or, if I’m hitting, then I’m just focusing on where I want the ball to go. It’s being in the moment, being where your feet are.”

This all comes naturally to Kennedy. Her parents, Erik and Marvina, instilled the work ethic, comfort level and confidence in her abilities in her and her three sisters.

“We all played sports, and (my parents) told us, ‘You can be the best at anything you do. Just put your mind to it.’ They’ve always supported us … they we’re just always there for whatever we needed,” Dakota Kennedy said.

This is also where she got her athleticism. Her first coach was her dad, who pitched at Grambling State — her connection to baseball. Marvina was a former basketball player at UTEP.

Her dad even put turf in the backyard so that Dakota and her younger sister, Micah, now 14, could play right outside their house. Micah Kennedy is a pitcher.

“She actually throws decently hard, so sometimes I’m afraid to catch her,” Dakota Kennedy said. “I throw with her a lot. She also is a hitter, so we hit together. … I do give her tips on hitting. It’s a little difficult sometimes because I hit left-handed, she hits right-handed, but I can help her with mechanics. Tweak little things.”

As she prepares for her first Pac-12 Tournament, Kennedy is excited to compete with her teammates and excited for at least one more game in front of the Arizona fans this season.

“I wasn’t sure how it was with me being a freshman — they don’t know who I am — but my first step out, the way they cheered, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I did not expect this at all,” Kennedy said.

“It’s just been amazing all year. The love they have for us is just out of this world. ... And the kids, they’re so amazing. (They say), ‘I love you. You’re my favorite player.’ And I’m like, ‘You are so amazing. You can do this. You can be here.’ ”