Joley Mitchell might look angry, but she's as happy as ever with Texas at the WCWS
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Joley Mitchell came to Texas for opportunities like this.
In her second year with the Longhorns after transferring from Notre Dame, Mitchell is relishing another chance to go to the Women’s College World Series and capture a national championship. It is, after all, exactly why she landed on the 40 Acres after four years with the Fighting Irish.
“I’m really excited to be going back this year with this team. It was one of my goals,” she said. “This is my dream. I’m really happy that I get to go back and end my career in OKC.”
Mitchell improved in just about every offensive category from last season, helping her earn a spot on the All-SEC first team. In a lineup chock-full of power, she’s smacked 14 home runs and slugged .750 this season while also raising her batting average from .378 to .385. She’s cut down on her strikeouts this season from 24 to 15, and she’s driven in almost double the number of runs she did last season, from 35 to 60.
She’s done it, Longhorns head coach Mike White said, through “tenacity and grit.”
“She’s a fighter,” White said. “She doesn’t have a prototypical swing, but she keeps battling and fighting.”
She’s also turned into one of the vocal leaders for the team, and White said that when someone needs a talking to, Mitchell isn’t afraid to do it.
“She’s outspoken, for sure. She’s gonna tell you how it is,” White said. “She’s not afraid to wear emotions on her shoulder, on her sleeve, so to speak.”
Senior Katie Cimusz was one of the players who hosted Mitchell on her visit before transferring. Other than being “very country,” Cimusz said, the way Mitchell fit in with the team as soon as she got to campus was what she noticed the most.
“She was able to joke with me, like, within 20 minutes of meeting me, as well as the coaches,” Cimusz said. “She has a really fun personality, and I think that stood out to me. She was just open to everybody, and now that I know her, she’s a light in my life. She’s one of my best friends.”
Mitchell helps anchor the middle of the Texas lineup that’s hammered 85 home runs, tied for No. 10 in Division I, with a .591 slugging percentage (also No. 10 in Division I). She said the team has been communicating a lot better on the field since a 14-2 loss to Texas A&M in the SEC tournament semifinals, a trend she hopes continues.
Texas (51-11) faces Florida in the first game of the WCWS at 11 a.m. Thursday, at OGE Energy Field at Devon Park. The Longhorns beat the Gators 2-1 in the first SEC series of the season in early March, but that may as well have been years ago. Both teams are vastly different, and playing on the big stage makes past matchups essentially irrelevant.
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It has been an emotional ride in burnt orange for Mitchell. Through ups and downs, she’s kept her eyes on her goals and catches herself when she starts to wander the wrong way. She does it all with her game face on, she said.
“I look like I’m just angry all of the time, but this is where I want to be,” she said. “I want to be out there on the field with my team, and I love the sport so much … I’ve been through a lot, and I have to work really hard to get to where I am now, so living it out at the World Series is pretty awesome.”
