Raider Feature: Chelsea Archer
5/6/2011 12:00:00 PM | Softball
May 6, 2011
Junior shortstop Chelsea Archer has put together a solid season for the Wright State softball team after coming to WSU this season from Ohio Dominican
Last year with Ohio Dominician, Archer started 47 games while batting .293 with 39 hits, 18 runs scored and 36 RBI. She also displayed power by smacking five home runs, eight doubles and a triple for a .481 slugging percentage.
A Thornville, Ohio, native, Chelsea, along with friend and WSU teammate Lindsay Barrett, brought home the 2008 Division III state championship for Lakewood High School.
Her leadership qualities shine through on the diamond as she yells out to teammates the number of outs in the inning right after throwing out a runner at first base.
"Communication is probably the main thing that I like to bring to the team," said Archer. "I enjoy talking to the pitchers and the rest of the infield."
As a transfer walk-on this year, Chelsea has help solidify the Raider infield. A great shortstop can be the difference for any ball club looking toward making a long run in the postseason.
So far this season, her numbers have been solid. Archer has appeared in 32 games with 26 starts and leads the team in batting average at .390. She has also driven in 13 runs and has a .455 slugging percentage and a .467 on-base percentage.
Chelsea recently was forced to miss six games after having her appendix removed in an emergency surgery. Her recovery has gone great and she returned to the field as the Raiders defeated Butler on April 28.
"The appendicitis definitely caught me off guard," said Archer. "I didn't feel well and I had been having some stomach problems for the whole season. It hit me after the Miami game (April 13) and then found out later on that I had to have an appendectomy. I thought at the time 'the timing stinks right now', but you got to do what you got to do."
Chelsea describes her reasons for choosing to transfer to Wright State,
"I just wanted to try something different," said Archer. "I wasn't really happy at Ohio Dominican, so I thought that I would broaden my horizons. I knew the whole team here and I'd been watching them play. My best friend is Lindsay Barrett and we went to high school together. So it all kind of clicked. I'm extremely happy here."
"I love it here, its a great team, more like a family," added Archer. "When I had my surgery, my family was there and so were my teammates, so it was like my extended family was there. The coaches came wished me luck before I went in. It was great!"
"Funny story, when I had come out of surgery my teammates were telling me about practice," said Archer. "I wanted to know what happened at practice, but the anesthesia had me way out of it. While I was eating dinner, Michelle Baker and few others were talking to me, looked over and saw I had fallen asleep with the spoon in my mouth. They like to bring that one up."
