While most of campus and Utah softball spectators may know her simply as Marissa, senior Marissa Mendenhall hardly ever hears the people close to her call her by that name. Instead, the name you’ll hear on the field, in the locker rooms or at home is “Bug.”
From her teammates to her family to her friends, the nickname “Bug” has stuck around for quite some time for Mendenhall.
“It started when I was little,” Mendenhall said. “My parents were the ones who just started calling me ‘Bug.’”
Bug started to become a household name in the Utah softball community, as creating nicknames for players is a common practice in sports. For the people that know Mendenhall well, calling her anything except Bug is almost too weird because that’s all they’ve ever known her as.
“We both came out to Utah on a recruiting trip, and the only thing I knew her as was just the name Bug,” said fellow senior and roommate Kate Dickman. “I didn’t even know her real name.”
Regarding the name, Mendenhall says that she has grown fond of it and it has given her a unique identity. Part of this identity dates all the way back to her high school days, where Mendenhall would leave a strong stamp on her high school program.
After taking Tooele High School to four straight state championships (and winning two of them), Mendenhall became known as a winner, but she also values the lessons learned in defeat.
“It was so much fun,” Mendenhall said of winning the state titles. “It’s something you grow up dreaming about. You want to win it every year, but losing those games made me become a better player.”
Mendenhall played catcher and third base during the majority of her high school career, but upon coming to Utah, she found a new home playing right field for the Utes.
“You always have to be ready and on your toes out there,” Mendenhall said of the outfield.
Mendenhall is in her senior year at the U, and hopes to leave a similar stamp on the program as the one she left in high school.
She has been doing everything in her power to help lead Utah to reach its team goals this season. Mendenhall is averaging a solid .313 batting average this season, but perhaps more impressive than that is how good she performs in critical moments in the game. Her batting average rises over 100 points when runners are in scoring position.
Statistics also show that she rarely is the one to end a Utah hitting rally, as her average is even higher, at .452, when she is at the plate with two outs.
“I love those kinds of situations,” Mendenhall said. “I like being the one that gets the opportunity to hit in those moments. The pressure of the situation has never really fazed me.”
It’s clear that Mendenhall, or “Bug,” depending on who you’re talking to, has been an important contributor to Utah’s success this season. Just know the next time you hear “Bug” at the softball field, the athletes aren’t complaining about a pest in their helmet, but rather cheering on one of their senior leaders.
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