Life’s a Veach or in this case two
Kendall Veach stepped to the plate in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to face Paige Lowary of Oklahoma in the top of the third inning. Crack! The sophomore sends the ball over the center field fence.
She’s mobbed by her teammates at home plate and then the television feed shows a replay. It’s what viewers didn’t see when she reached the dugout that starts this story.
Waiting for his little sister to return from her first collegiate trot around the bases was Hunter Veach, a manager for the Auburn softball team.
“When she got those two big hits against Oklahoma it (excitement) just came out of me,” said Hunter. “I was fist bumping and cheering just as loud as the players were. When she came back to the dugout I calmed myself down a little and gave her a fist bump. I didn’t want her to see me show excitement but (the proud big brother) was bursting out of me.”
The older Veach has had to adjust to different roles for the team. He started as a manager, last year he was the volunteer assistant and this year he is a manager. After an initial conversation with Corey Myers inquiring about helping, Kendall was the one who made the approval.
“I love (having him around),” said Kendall. “He helps me in all aspects of college. He’s there when I’m breaking down and need someone. He’s there for softball and tells me what I’m doing and he can get to me better (than anyone) with that. I wouldn’t want anyone else.”
Kendall says her brother knows her swings better than anyone else in the dugout and it’s because they are siblings that he can give tough love when she needs it.
“He can watch me every day and come to me with pointers,” she said. “He just helps me be the best athlete not only offensively but defensively too.”
Because he’s looked at as a coach, Hunter doesn’t show favoritism and tries to approach every moment objectively. The same goes for Kendall when she has to remember that even though he’s her brother, he is still a coach.
“I give a lot to Kendall because when I stepped in to be the volunteer assistant she did a very good job of looking at me as a coach on the field instead of her brother. Growing up, I’m not saying we had the worst relationship in the world, but we fought. We are only three years apart in age so we had our differences for sure but she really respected me as a coach on the field and I really appreciated that.”
Through seven games this season, Veach is hitting .227 with a slugging percentage of .818. In 22 at bats, she has five hits, four of which are home runs. She had five hits total last season as a freshman in 19 at bats.
“In my eyes, she’s always been that player on the verge of breaking out,” said Hunter. “My message to her now is now she is totally prepared and has past success. That’s the recipe for confidence and let’s work on keeping it consistent.”
Kendall, Hunter and the Tigers are in action this weekend at the 2017 Plainsman Invitation in Auburn.
