Kayla St. John of Suffolk is only a freshman on the college softball playing field, but she has quickly made that seem hard to believe. Six games into the season with Lynchburg College (5-1), she is among the team’s offensive leaders.

“I was very nervous the first game,” she said. “So, I was really surprised after the first game, I actually lived up to my potential.”

Nerves persisted for the first couple of games, but “they wore off after I got my first hit,” she said.

That first hit came in the third game of the season against visiting Methodist University. She served as a pinch hitter and only had one at bat, but garnered a hit, a run batted in and a run scored.

St. John said she thought the back half of the double-header against Methodist represented her best game yet. In it, she had two hits, an RBI and two runs scored in three at bats.

“I was really focused and my family was there, so I felt like I had more support,” she said.

She also had an impressive game last Sunday in a 12-0 win over visiting Greensboro College, recording three hits, two RBIs and two runs scored in three at bats.

After six games, she has a batting average of .467, with seven hits, two doubles, a home run, four RBIs and seven runs scored.

Accounting for her success, she said, “I’ve been working hard at practice.”

Hornets head coach Dawn Simmons gave her thoughts on St. John’s quick start.

“Obviously, very pleased,” she said. “I think you hope to get that out of your players eventually, but to have somebody start off like that, it’s a great asset to have.”

Simmons scouted St. John when she played with the Back River Surge Girls Fast Pitch Softball Club and then again later when she played for the Richmond Ruckus. The coach shared what she saw in St. John while recruiting her.

“She was playing third base at the time, but the most impressive thing was just the way that she swung the bat and just her overall athleticism,” Simmons said.

She did not see a ceiling on what St. John can bring to the Hornets in the long term.

“The way she started off, who knows?” Simmons said.

She’s also noted St. John has been willing to branch out and play new positions.

St. John moved to Suffolk shortly before going to college, but prior to that, she lived in Yorktown and played for Tabb High School, where she was a pitcher and third baseman.

At Lynchburg, “She’s playing some first, playing some third and she’s probably going to play some second this weekend,” Simmons said.

“First base is pretty hard,” St. John said. “The footwork is just really tough for me, but I’m catching on.”

She cited what she hopes to accomplish in her freshman season.

“My goals would be to go up every at bat and have a successful at bat,” she said. “I don’t really have any statistic goals, but at the same time, I want above a .400 batting average.”

The Hornets return to action this morning with a double-header in Salisbury, Md., against Wilkes University.