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Hardin said she believes what drew her to Littlepage was the fact that her vision of success aligned with his own. "I think my coaching philosophies really aligned with what they were looking for," she said. "I am very process oriented and very much about building from within, building character and building integrity." Fundamentals are where Hardin-coached teams begin. Making the routine play, hitting the cut-off person and having the right mindset. "It doesn't take an exceptionally talented person to hustle on and off the field," Hardin said. "You don't have to be super talented to bust your tail out of the dugout and get your position. You don't have to be talented to pick up after yourself and clean up equipment. Anybody can have that; it's just a choice to do that every single day." That's the expectation of everyone. On the field, Hardin has the same approach of focusing on the fundamentals and high expectations. "Our assistant coach Kaleigh Rafter talks a lot about the 80 percent rule. Ask what happens 80 percent of the time and we're going to be really good at that," Hardin said. "The routine ground ball, the fly ball, those are things that happen 80 percent of the time in a game, and we're not going to spend three or four hours of practice on things that aren't going to happen the majority of the time." As you speak to Virginia's new coach, it is clear that she understands the challenge but believes she has the core assets in place to create a winning program. It's also clear the staff and players share Hardin's passion. "We have kids that are excited and ready to go," she said. "Everybody thinks they work hard until that bar is pushed a little harder, a little higher and we're not lowering the bar for any reason because our kids are capable." — Greg Waters