MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama softball freshman infielder Caroline "Pepper" Nichols sat down with USAJaguars.com to discuss playing softball with her sister, how she got her nickname and how the fall was for her among other topics.
Nichols signed with the Jaguars after concluding her prep career at Hoover High School in Hoover, Ala., where she helped lead the Buccaneers to back-to-back state titles as a senior and as a junior. She batted ,462 as a senior and ended her prep career ranked in the program's top 5 in batting average and stolen bases.
Talk about your path to South Alabama?
"My sister MC [Nichols] committed pretty early on and I was always down here and around the program and the coaches new me very well. When it came time for me to look at colleges, I knew this was the only place I wanted to go. I even told my dad that I didn't want to go anywhere else. South offered me and that was it."
How and at what age did you get involved with the game of softball?
"I started playing probably around four or five. MC started playing and my dad taught us the game. I feel in love with the sport and just kept playing."
What other sports did you play growing up?
"I did gymnastics and I cheered in middle school and my freshman year of high school."
What is your favorite memory that you have had so far playing softball?
"My last high school game was an area playoff game against Thompson in an elimination game where I went 4-for-4. Even though we ended up losing the game, it was a good way for me to end my high school career."
What does it mean to you to have the opportunity to play collegiately with your sister?
"I love it. Having her here has not only helped me on the field, but in other areas. She has helped me so much in learning how to manage my time with school. Living with her has been great."
How did you get the nickname "Pepper"?
"I get that question a lot. When I was around five, I was playing tee ball and I wore a shirt from the old Dr. Pepper commercials all the time that said 'I'm a Pepper'. For some reason, I would not let my mom take it off of me and I wore it pretty much every day. One of my coaches who was also a family friend started calling me Pepper as a joke and everyone started doing it as well. Now I'm 18 years old and that's the only name people know me as."
What kind of an impact do you hope to make on the team this season?
"I'm very competitive so I'm hoping that carries over to the team. I've been known to be a leader and step up and voice my opinion in the past, so hopefully I can be a leader. That's my goal."
What has the fall season been like for you both in the classroom and on the field?
"The classroom was a little bit difficult for me. I've had to learn how to use my time because softball in high school isn't anything like it is here. I'm practicing pretty much every day and lifting weights three days a week. We also have to go to study hall six hours a week, so it's a lot but I'm learning."
"The first half of our fall season, I was out with a foot injury, so I didn't get to play very much, but at the end of the fall season, I started picking things up. I'm still rehabbing some and getting back into running."
With you not really able to compete during the fall, what area of your game are you wanting to work on heading into the spring?
"My hitting and more specifically, my slapping."
What do you feel is a strength that you bring to the team and why?
"Speed for sure. Myself and MC are both pretty fast. I'm hoping my speed can help our lineup."
What are you majoring in at South Alabama and what do you plan to do after graduation?
"I'm majoring in marketing and I want to go into sports marketing and work for a pro team in either the NBA or NFL."
How did you get interested in that field?
"I knew wanted to do something with sports because I've been around it my whole life. I'm a sports junkie. I watch NFL red zone every Sunday and a lot of NBA games."
Do you have any pregame or pre-at-bat superstitions or rituals?
"It sounds kind of weird, but I really don't. There are a lot of players who feel that have to do this or do that or they won't get a hit. I just go up there and do it."
What is your favorite type of music to listen to?
"Fleetwood Mac is my favorite band. I saw Stevie Nicks in concert and it was great."
What's your favorite meal?
"That's hard because I like everything. I really like steak and mashed potatoes."
What's your favorite form of social media?
"Probably Snapchat."
What do you like to do in your spare time?
"Probably sleep."
Who has been the most influential person in your life?
"My sister MC. She's three years older than me and growing up behind her, I've just always looked up to her."
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSout_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the Bullpen Club, the softball specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. Members have access to purchase parking passes and receive Jaguar Softball gear. All donations to the Bullpen Club go directly to support the South Alabama softball program. For more information on how you can join visit: jaguarathleticfund.com/bullpenclub.
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