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I t's not exactly a bold statement coming from a coach, but to hear the words come out of Amanda Lehotak's mouth is to understand she believes she's extreme even in relation to her peers. "I have kind of a weird obsession with winners," said Penn State's first-year soft- ball coach. "I take notes on everything, I read every book – 'The Tipping Point,' 'Good to Great' – and there are just so many coaches to learn from. I'll pick up the phone and call anybody. … I study so many people, it's ridiculous." As weird, ridiculous obsessions go, an infatuation with not losing seems like a pretty normal one for someone in Leho- tak's line of work. But in a way, it is a leap, at least on paper: Simply put, Penn State softball and winning have only oc- casionally been synonymous, and as the latest coach charged with changing that, Lehotak brings a re- sume of under-the- radar success at small, warm-weather pro- grams. Now in Happy Valley, she's looking to apply her obsessive focus to a program with lots of resources, but without the his- tory, recruiting base or weather usually conducive to thriving on the diamond. Born and raised in Ne b ra s ka , L e h o ta k to o k a c i rc u i to u s route to State College. She set the single- season hits record at Ole Miss as a sophomore before trans- ferring to Nebraska-Omaha, where she earned third-team All-America honors before wrapping up her career in 2003. She went immediately into coaching, serving time as an assistant at the high school and college ranks before taking over as head coach at Jacksonville Uni- versity in 2006. In five seasons with the Dolphins, Lehotak's teams improved every year, peaking with a 44-16 mark in 2011, when JU won the Atlantic Sun Conference title and earned its first- ever NCAA bid. She spent the past two seasons at Texas- San Antonio before coming to Penn State in August, replacing Robin Petrini, who resigned after 17 seasons in the Lions' SOFTBALL Penn State falls to No. 6 Wolverines Penn State scored four runs on three hits in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Nittany Lions' late heroics were not enough to stave off a 12-4 loss to No. 6 Michigan in five in- nings March 29 at Nittany Lion Soft- ball Park and Beard Field. Sophomore Karlie Habitz led the charge, posting PSU's first hit of the day to break up a no-hit bid from Michigan's Haylie Wagner. Freshman Shelby Miller and senior Alyssa Sovereign contributed to the late rally with one hit each. The Lions (6-21, 0-6 Big Ten) also drew three walks from Wagner, tying for the most the pitcher has given up this season. HOME GROWN Lehotak is looking to develop the Nit- tany Lion program by recruiting the best players in the Northeast. She wants to "not only recruit Pennsylvania, but every state Pennsylvania touch- es." Photo by Penn State Athletic Com- munications | THINKING BIG Amanda Lehotak is determined to build a winner at PSU N O T E B O O K dugout. Petrini's career mark of 489-437- 2 made her Penn State's winningest coach. Lehotak, who had never set foot in Penn- sylvania before her interview last summer, understands the challenges she faces in trying to take the Lions from (pretty) good to (consistently) great. "I think for a while, they had a facility issue here, but with Beard Field, you can check that off. It's made a world of dif- ference," Lehotak said of the dedicated softball stadium unveiled in 2011. "It has a wow factor. We love having Beaver Sta- dium over the left field fence. With re- cruiting, we feel that if we get them on campus, we have a shot at getting any- body." And what kind of players are they getting on campus? Lehotak takes a Franklinesque approach to recruiting, saying the program needs to "not only recruit Pennsylvania, but every state Pennsylvania touches." And despite the traditional concentration of power programs in the South and West, she says there's plenty of talent in the Li- ons' backyard. "The way training is being done these days, everybody can swing, everybody can hit. I think it's the intan- gibles that will separate us." To Lehotak, the list of intangibles is long and specific. For starters, "I think you have to respect the game. I believe when you draw a walk, you should sprint to first base. People who have come out and watched us say they've already seen a lot more energy this season." She talks as well of fever-pitch practices, working at a fast pace so the actual games seem slow by comparison. Then there's the toughness that makes those Northeast recruits not only good enough, but even preferable to the big-name players from Florida or California. "You have to recruit kids who like to play in the cold," she said. "It's about toughness and will. That'll make us competitive with any- body." It's probably too early for Lehotak's approach to pay dividends, as evidenced by the Lions' 6-21 mark through the end of March. Figure it'll take four or five years before Penn State might begin to have a program worthy of its coach's ob- session. ■ MEN'S GYMNASTICS Howard leads Lions at Big Ten meet Sophomore Trevor Howard shined in the individual finals of the Big Ten championships, winning the first con- ference title of his career on the still rings March 29 at Nebraska. Howard swung to a career-high score of 15.825 to finish with the top score on the rings. The title marks the eighth time in program history a Nittany Lion has claimed the top spot on the rings in the individual finals. Howard added another top-five per- formance, as he finished fifth on the vault with a score of 14.875. As a team, the seventh-ranked Nit- tany Lions finished third with a score of 438.00. Michigan won the title, while Ohio State was second. WOMEN'S GYMNASTICS Stauder recognized as All-American Senior Kassidy Stauder became the second Penn State women's gymnast to earn regular-season All-America distinction from the National Associa- tion of College Gymnastics Coaches for Women. A top performer on the balance beam all season, Stauder earned second-team All-America honors on the event. ■

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