Wittenberg softball: Arcanum grad sets stolen base record

Apr. 13—A softball player needs more than speed and a green light to break a stolen base record.

Meghan McCans, an Arcanum High School graduate, explained the keys to setting the Wittenberg and North Coast Athletic Conference record with 102 career stolen bases.

"At a young age, because I was fast," McCans said Thursday, April 9, "my dad harped on me about base IQ and looking for the little things."

McCans watches how the pitcher moves. She observes the catcher, checking to see if she has a hitch in her throw. She said "using your speed and believing in your speed" is important and credits her dad for teaching her those lessons.

David McCans coached Meghan for most of her life and founded Focus Fastpitch Softball in Arcanum in 2017. He ran track in high school, Meghan said, so that partly explains where she got her speed.

McCans set the Wittenberg and North Coast Athletic Conference record last week. The old mark of 99 was set by Lauren Combs from 2013-16.

In four games last week, she hit .462 (6-for-13) with one RBI, one run and six stolen bases. She helped Wittenberg (13-11 overall) win three of its first four NCAC games. Her performance earned her the NCAC Player of the Week award.

"Coming into college, I knew my role as a player was to get on, steal bases and get home," McCans said.

McCans hit .218 with eight stolen bases in 27 games as a freshman. She hit .400 as a sophomore and set a school record with 36 stolen bases in 42 games. Last year, she hit .352 with 34 stolen bases in 41 games.

This year, McCans leads the team with a .371 average. She has 24 stolen bases in 22 games. She wants to steal 40 bases, and she's on pace to do that with 16 games remaining in the regular season.

McCans also set the Arcanum record with 42 career stolen bases. Her dad gets some credit for both records.

"I was a righty growing up," she said. "I was never a power hitter on the right side. So my dad flipped me to the left side. He taught me how to swing left-handed, and then I went into slapping just because I was so fast. I ran track in middle school."

McCans chose Wittenberg in part because it's close to home.

"I am a big family person," she said, "so I knew that I needed to be at least close enough to where if I needed to go home, I could with a quick drive. I loved the campus."

McCans earned her undergraduate degree in sports management as a sophomore and will complete a master's degree in sports administration this spring. She wants to work as an athletic director or in athletic facilities management after college. She also wants to coach softball.

"I've definitely enjoyed my four years," she said. "I've learned a lot about myself."