Eastern Michigan University senior third baseman Nellie Coquillard is another versatile player on the EMU softball team.

She hails from Niles, which is about 100 miles east of Chicago and is the hometown of senior pitcher Jenna Ignowski.

Coquillard has been playing softball since she was about 9, and in addition to the sport, she played volleyball and ran cross country before making the decision to go with one sport.

Coquillard said it was her father who helped steer her towards the decision to stick with softball.

“My dad is a big baseball guy,” Coquillard said. “I played baseball for the first part of my life, followed in my brother’s footsteps, and once I figured out I probably couldn’t do that anymore I switched to softball.”

Coquillard is a communications major but said her favorite classes are ones she’s taking as electives in the apparels and textiles field.

“I had some extra room some semester,” Coquillard said. “So I took a couple of those because they were interesting to me.”

She said her favorite movie is the romantic drama “Love and Basketball” (2000).

Coquillard said her favorite food is the same as that of her hometown teammate: Mexican.

Coquillard moved from second base to third base at the start of the season to make room for Amanda Stanton.

“She’s become a great force [in] the infield,” EMU coach Karen Baird said. “She’s become a leader this year. She’s demonstrated that she’s taken the team on her shoulders.”

Coquillard is the team’s power hitter: She’s hitting .280 in 93 at bats for EMU. She has six home runs and has batted in 18 runs.

Visit The Eastern Echo’s website at www.easternecho.com for more stories about the EMU softball team as well as the other sports on campus.

 

(Al Willman is a writer for The Eastern Echo newspaper at Eastern Michigan University)