WAYNESBURG — Samantha Volponi wondered if she had broken a mirror, walked under a ladder or had a black cat cross her path.

There really was no other way to explain why the potent hitter who terrorized high school softball pitching while at Slippery Rock High was in such a funk at the plate.

In her first two years as a third baseman for the Waynesburg College softball team, Volponi hit a mere .205.

“It was so frustrating,” Volponi said. “I hit the ball hard, but directly to people.”

In 132 at-bats in her first two seasons, the junior struck out only 18 times. But when she put the ball in play, bad things still happened.

Even her coach, Lou Giachetti, could only explain the hitting drought as a case of a curse.

“First of all, Sam is a very good ballplayer and a really good hitter,” Giachetti said. “Although she didn't hit for a high average her first two years, she was making good contact, but just not getting things to go her way.”

Things, though, are going her way a lot more this season.

Those line drives that found gloves last season are finding nothing but green outfield grass as through 10 games Volponi is hitting a crisp .421.

No one is more relieved than Volponi.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself the last two years,” Volponi said. “I don't have that kind of stress this season. I've gone back to when I was 14 years old, when I just had fun. It helps a lot just to be able to take a deep breath again.”

With the weight of a poor average off her shoulders, Volponi is finally performing like she thought she could when she walked on to the team as a freshman.

When Volponi left Slippery Rock, where she was a four-year starter and a mainstay in the middle of the lineup, she didn't have plans to play in college.

But when she got to Waynesburg, where she is studying exercise science, she decided to attend a team tryout and played during the fall season.

It didn't take long for her to make an impression on Giachetti, who was also new to the campus at the beginning of his first season as softball coach.

“After seeing her in the fall season, I was very impressed with her,” Giachetti said. “I had enough confidence in her to make her our starting third baseman her freshman year.”

And the coach, who took over a program that hasn't had a winning season since 1994, stuck with Volponi through it all.

“Sam has all the skills to be a successful college hitter,” Giachetti said. “She really didn't need to change anything in her mechanics. I guess a little luck can pay off, too.”

Volponi hopes to continue that luck this season. She doesn't want to go though what she did the last two years.

“(Slumping) was hard on me,” she said. “I felt I was letting myself down and my teammates down. I wasn't relaxed. It took a toll on me to the point where I thought about quitting.”

Volponi hopes to be part of a team that breaks another slump — the nearly two-decade losing streak.

Waynesburg is 6-4 heading into the weekend.

“We have an excellent group of girls,” Volponi said. “As of right now, there's no reason why we can't have a winning record or win the (Presidents' Athletic Conference).”