Photo by Jeff Hurndon | Georgia State Athletics
Dominant Davis
- Has pitched three complete games for the Panthers in the 2016 season
- Leads Georgia State with a 2.81 ERA
- Finished the 2015 season with Wisconsin as a 3-2 starter.
- Davis is a sophomore from Paradise Valley, Arizona
- Attended three OnDeck National Elite Softball Camps
Why did you choose to transfer to Georgia State as opposed to another big school in Georgia, such as UGA?
Davis: Coming from University of Wisconsin last year, that was a really big center for athletics and academics, it was just a lot of pressure. I really just wanted to come to a smaller school, a smaller team and kind of a smaller atmosphere. Try to get that experience as opposed to a huge, pressure-filled environment. Ultimately, I knew the pitching coach here, she’s from Arizona like me.
How has Panther Family and Georgia State invited and welcomed you so far since you’ve been here?
Davis: It’s been awesome so far. I mean, coming to the city has been a huge change for me. Being from Arizona, the desert to coming to the city and Georgia, the south. Southern hospitality is big here, the people are really nice, people are always welcoming you. My teammates, especially, a few of them have invited me to come home with them to their house on the weekend and stuff. They live in more of the country, so it’s kind of nice to experience the city and the country, they’re all welcoming and super nice.
The softball team has experienced record breaking numbers in terms of attendance this season, how important is fan support to you, coming from a big school to a smaller school?
Davis: It’s really important. It’s still important to have people that support you. It’s great having the fan attendance that I had last year transfer over to this year, it’s just good to know people are supportive.
Favorite part about Georgia State?
Davis: My favorite part about Georgia State is probably how collective it is here. You can just get a taste of anything. Like you have kids on all the different sports teams that are from all different countries and all different teams. We always hang out together and it’s just really nice to have the athletic community that we can just support as well as meeting students in our classes that are from the south and are also from different countries. It’s just great having that environment.
How have you felt so far this season, we know that you threw a shutout a couple of weeks ago, how has season gone for you so far?
Davis: I’ve been a lot more confident this season than I was last season. I had elbow surgery over the summer and my elbow’s feeling a lot better so far this season than it was last season. So that’s good. Also, it’s been a lot better throwing in weather that is 70 degrees rather than snowing and 20 [laughs], so that’s been helpful.
Who does Annie Davis emulate her pitching style after?
Davis: Definitely my pitching coach. She’s the one who I grew up pitching next to, actually pitching lessons. She’s been my role model, Mackenzie Popescue, she used to pitch for Arizona State. She has definitely been my role model growing up and she’s been the one I’ve looked up to.
Now is that the pitching coach that you know here at Georgia State?
Davis: Yes. She’s my pitching coach here at Georgia State, yes.
So how does it feel reuniting with her?
Davis: It’s amazing to have her support. She’s calling pitches for me, she’s in bullpens with us during practices and it’s just great to have her around. Great having her be my support system.
Funniest teammate?
Davis: Probably, her name’s Morgan Brown. She’s just hilarious. She’s from a small town in Georgia (Monroe) and she just has this thick southern accent. She’s just so sweet and she’s just hilarious, she just knows how to make me laugh [laughs].
Ultimate goal for Georgia State this season?
Davis: I think our goal. We are 11-11 I believe right now. Which hasn’t been the best start we’ve been looking for, but our goal is to win conference. Starting from here on out we need to win all of our conference games in order to have a good future in head of us in terms of tournament play and stuff.
