Southeast Missourian softball player of the year: Kelly's Alexis Dock

There won't be any need to motivate Alexis Dock when the Kelly softball team begins its quest for a coveted state title this August.

Dock knows her team has to take care of some unfinished business.

"I definitely want to make it back to state and be able to say my senior year was the best I could make it," Dock said.

After being named Southeast Missourian Player of the Year as a sophomore, Dock responded by earning the honor again with another impressive fall season as a junior, finishing with a .477 batting average and 25 RBIs at the plate. She was also 14-2 in the circle with a 1.71 ERA to go along with 101 strikeouts and 28 walks.

But there's still a glaring void in Dock's resume.

The Hawks advanced to the final four and missed an opportunity to book their spot in the state championship in Dock's first two varsity seasons, and despite beating Portageville three times during Dock's junior year, Kelly lost to the Bulldogs the fourth time around in the district championship.

"I was motivated to get back to the final four, and not making it this year was kind of a bummer because I've been there my freshman and sophomore years," Dock said. "Not making it your junior year is kind of a 'blah' thing."

Kelly coach Rhonda Ratledge has been pleased with Dock's growth as a pitcher and is excited about what might be in store for her senior campaign.

"She's kind of in the weight room right now and trying to get some muscle and doing what she can do to make herself a little faster," Ratledge said. "It's not just in the arm. It's all the way through the body, stomach and legs and all that because when you're [pitching], you've got to push. So you're using legs a lot more than you are your arms. She's been focused on that because she knows the next step after that is college, so she's really started getting focused on that. I think that's been her biggest improvement and what has helped her numbers.

"... She had a lot more confidence this year kind of stepping up in that junior role with all of the girls behind her. There were a lot of seniors behind her this year on the field, so I think she felt pretty confident with them behind her as well. That helps you get kind of settled [in the circle] as a pitcher."

Dock mainly focused on adding a combination of speed and spin to her pitches in an effort to generate more movement as a junior. She also made an attempt to perfect her changeup, which helped keep batters honest.

Ratledge assisted Dock by establishing a practice routine.

"I threw every day after practice, or during practice I would be throwing either to batters or on the side or something," Dock said. "She'd always make sure to come over and watch and tell me if I'm spinning it or not spinning it or pushing off enough, basically just encouraging me to push myself to be the best that I could."

Dock also gained a better understanding of the game itself and became more disciplined in her preparation, according to Ratledge.

"She was kind of really starting to understand what her role was, and I think that in practice when she was doing the drills, she really began to fully understand why she was doing them," Ratledge said.

But the battle between Kelly and Portageville highlighted the Hawks' 2014 season.

The Hawks took three regular-season meetings against the Bulldogs -- a 5-2 decision at Kelly, a 1-0 eight-inning decision in a tournament at Notre Dame and a 6-3 decision in a tournament at Jackson -- but the district championship played out in Portageville's favor. Bulldogs junior Taylor Tiffany pitched a complete game, allowed only three hits and had seven strikeouts, ending the Hawks' season with a 2-0 victory.

"It was definitely a big competition," Dock said about the matchup with Portageville. "We were definitely on our A-game the other times we played them, and then I think we kind of had it in the back of our minds that we beat them three times and could beat them again. And we kind of relaxed, and our nerves kind of got the best of us whenever they got that run."

The battle between Dock and Tiffany features two of the area's best hurlers, and it's bound to get better as both pitchers enter their senior seasons.

"It's always hard to beat a team three times, much less try to beat them that fourth time," Ratledge said. "Portageville's pitcher, she's tough [in the circle]. You have to give it to her. She works in the summers just as hard as [Dock] does, so if you've got two good Southeast Missouri girls going head to head, you're going to end up with a good ball game. ... And that's what softball's all about. That's what makes it fun to watch and exciting. Somebody's going to come out on top, and unfortunately, we didn't at districts. It just wasn't our year."

Dock said she's inspired by the pitching of Tiffany, who finished 23-6 with a 0.60 ERA and a state-record 391 strikeouts.

"She's a very good pitcher, and she has a lot of movement. I guess it's just that you want to get to wherever you can to be able to hit her," Dock said about Tiffany. "I face a lot of pitching like that during the summer, and seeing it during this summer is probably going to help me a lot more."

Deciding which college to attend shouldn't be a distraction for Dock next season after she made a verbal commitment to Southwest Baptist in October.

"Our season was over, and I asked her, 'Do you feel like some of the pressure is off of you now?' because that is a lot of pressure," Ratledge said. "... Your colleges will start looking your sophomore year, so I think it was kind of making her nervous that she hadn't really had a lot of offers. Then she was going through her junior year, and then she was contacted by several. She went and visited, and they made an offer. So I think that had a lot to do with some things as well, and once she kind of gave that verbal commitment, it was just like a relief was lifted off her shoulders.

"That'll help her coming into her senior year, too. She just has to go out there and perform. She doesn't have to impress anybody. Just do what you know how to do best."

A chapter of Dock's softball career, which began when she was 6 years old, will come to an end next season, and Ratledge said she's looking forward to seeing a newly motivated player.

"I think she's always felt like she was a leader, and I think a lot of pitchers do, especially when they're playing on that varsity level," Ratledge said. "... They're the ones [in the circle] that kind of get their teams pumped and going and stuff like that, so it's kind of going to be interesting what she does maybe in the dugout. I've always kind of seen her in that leadership role [in the circle] as well, so I don't know that being a senior is going to change that for her."