Oklahoma slugger Lauren Chamberlain making history

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Lauren Chamberlain has taken her teammates and fans on quite a ride during her historic home run chase.

The Oklahoma senior tied UCLA's Stacey Nuveman for the NCAA Division I career record of 90 home runs last Saturday against Baylor, to the delight of her more than 30,000 Twitter followers and 42,000 Instagram followers. She has embraced the bigger crowds and the increased attention that have come with her pursuit of history. She will have several chances this week to break the record, starting Wednesday at Oklahoma State.

"It's awesome," Chamberlain said. "It's really cool, the energy it's created."

Along the way, she has opened up to reveal aspects of the person behind the hitter. She has interacted with fans through social media like few softball players before her, often drawing thousands of responses after posting photos of herself in action, with teammates, or dressed up away from the diamond. Her following far exceeds that of most of Oklahoma's football and basketball players.

"Her personality is contagious," Oklahoma hitting coach Tripp MacKay said. "She is the one that's going to make you laugh and make you stay loose. She's just — outgoing is the word. She's just out there. She has a good sense of humor, which people kind of get. She has kind an electric personality when she gets in her little world. It's fun to watch because the others jump in."

Chamberlain's teammate, returning All-American Shelby Pendley, is one of her biggest fans. Pendley benefits from the fact that Chamberlain is almost always on base as a leadoff hitter when she steps to the plate in the No. 2 spot.

"Hitting behind the greatest hitter in softball right now, and potentially the greatest hitter to ever play the game is a really cool feeling," Pendley said. "Me being the protector for her — I don't even know how to describe it. I feel like it's just an honor."

Chamberlain returns the respect for Pendley, saying her leadership, presence and work ethic have helped her mature.

"Having her hitting behind me is so comforting," Chamberlain said. "It's so much protection. It makes it possible for me to get however many more at bats this season, for sure."

Chamberlain credits her coach for helping her shorten and level her swing to make it more consistent. MacKay said Chamberlain already had the perfect combination of bat speed, strength, work ethic and smarts.

"Lauren was just completely, 'Just do whatever you want,'" he said. "I was like, 'Cool!' It's like an artist with an open canvas. Just paint whatever you want."

Chamberlain, who is from Orange County, California, does more than crank homers — she's hitting .409 and has helped the Sooners lead the nation with a .374 average. She has 54 RBIs, 54 runs and 44 walks in 43 games as the Sooners have rolled to a 39-6 record.

"I've always prided myself on my average," she said. "If your average is good and you're swinging at good pitches, the home runs will come, so I think it's a better thing to focus on."

Nuveman, now Stacey Nuveman Deniz, tweeted Chamberlain after she tied the record, which was set in 2002.

"WELCOME and congrats @LChamberlain44! 90 feels good, doesn't it?!?" tweeted Nuveman Deniz, now a coach at San Diego State. "You can take your time hitting #91 if you'd like."

Chamberlain might already have set the record if she hadn't been injured for much of last season. She missed 23 games with a back injury and two games with a partially torn ligament in her right knee. She got to 90 career home runs in 574 at bats — it took Nuveman 691 at-bats to reach that number.

"It's been awesome coaching her," MacKay said. "It's unbelievably lucky. I mean, you get one hitter like this in a lifetime."

___

Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Related topics