Back in 2004 when the US Women's Olympic softball team was touring the country prior to going to the games they stopped in South Bend at the Belleville Softball Complex. Before the game Watley, a great slapper, stood at home plate and hit several balls five to fifteen feet in front of the plate gauging the hardness of the field and the bounce of the ball. Once the game started she used that knowledge to consistently pound pitches into the ground and by the time the fielder was able to field it, she had already crossed first base.
