Dispatch
Ohio State sports
Well-adjusted
Brittany Vanderink hasn't let a rare eye disorder keep her from being a smashing success
Wednesday, April 30, 2008 3:27 AM
By
Tom Reed
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
SHARI LEWIS | DISPATCH
Ohio State senior captain Brittany Vanderink faces the second baseman while in her batting stance so that her left eye is focused directly on the pitcher.
SHARI LEWIS | DISPATCH
Vanderink, who plays second base, right field and left field, will finish her career as one of
OSU's top hitters.
- How Vanderink has fared
- Where Brittany Vanderink ranks among career leaders at Ohio State:
- Stolen bases: Fourth with 62
- Triples: Tied for fourth with 11
- Runs: Fifth with 126
- Hits: Tied for fifth with 215
- Batting average: Sixth at .345
As a child, Ohio State softball player Brittany Vanderink recalls the awkward stares from kids and the furtive glances from adults. The second baseman would have preferred seven innings worth of bad hops as opposed to fielding one question: "Brittany, what's wrong with your eye?"
Vanderink, an ebullient
OSU senior, suffers from a congenital condition that, beyond its cosmetic impact, affects her depth perception.
But there was one place, remarkably, where Vanderink could always escape feelings of inadequacy -- a 3-foot-by-7-foot plot of dirt where her self-esteem took root and grew. It was a batter's box.
The Buckeyes captain has overcome a rare disorder in her right eye to become one of the top hitters in school history.
Cont...