By Calvin Sports Information Director Jeff Febus

Before every pitch, Hannah Biddlecome deftly twirls her bat in a windmill motion as she steps into the left-handed side of the batter's box. Look online through grainy baseball footage and the batter's box ritual is not all unlike the left-handed bat spin used by New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig.

But Biddlecome's bat spin is not an ode to the Iron Horse – instead, it's a method to lock in at the plate.



"I had a travel ball coach who taught me to come up with a routine that would help shut my mind off and help me just react instead of think when the pitch comes in," said Biddlecome. "It's not a cocky thing. It's just a way for me to focus on the pitch."

The method has worked out well for Biddlecome who has tagged over 200 hits in her career, recently becoming Calvin's all-time career hits leader as well as becoming just the second player in Calvin softball history to reach the 200-hit plateau. Her career batting average hovers above .440. She also holds Calvin's career leader records in runs scored (135) and stolen bases (79). Biddlecome began her Calvin career as a right-fielder, frequently making diving catches in the gap or down the line while throwing out 12 base runners during her first three years as a Knight including eight at first base. She has since moved to centerfield, using her speed and ability to hunt down balls hit anywhere in the outfield to her advantage. Her post-season awards include multiple all-conference and all-region citations. She has been a part of two MIAA Tournament Championship teams as well as two NCAA III Tournament squads.

Her high-flying softball career indirectly traces back to her childhood days as a sideline cheerleader in Texas at her older brother's flag football games.  "Oh it was fun," laughs Biddlecome. "I was about five or six years old, and I was part of the Little Longhorns cheerleaders. You had to use your voice as a cheerleader which wasn't hard for me to do. I did that until I was about eight when my allergies started to get to me and I think I started being a bit too loud for the other girls."

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
On the softball field, Biddlecome needs no megaphone to be heard from her spot in centerfield, the dugout or in the on-deck circle. Her voice booms across the field as she cheers on her teammates and they love her for it.

"Hannah definitely has the volume part down and it's awesome," said Calvin pitcher, four-year teammate and close friend Kirsten Krause. "She is so supportive of every player and builds them up. When I'm pitching, I can hear every word she is saying. Her energy is unlike any other. She makes every day for our team fun. We put in work each day but she makes the work fun."

At the conclusion of her senior year last spring, Biddlecome softball's voice was nearly silenced. As a sophomore, in 2020, the NCAA spring sports season came to an end due to the Covid pandemic. The Calvin softball season consisted of a total of five games with all NCAA spring sports athletes given an additional season of eligibility due to the Covid shutdown.

When Calvin's 2022 season ended in the MIAA Tournament last May and her undergraduate degree in film production and communications completed, Biddlecome had resigned herself to the fact that her collegiate softball career was over, despite holding an extra season of eligibility in her back pocket.

Calvin head softball coach Becky Hilgert understood Biddlecome's decision but made it clear that the door was open if she chose to return.

"Coach (Hilgert) told me the door was always open, even it was the first week of September when classes started," said Biddlecome. "Over the first two months of summer, I started thinking that I wasn't ready to be done with softball or with school. I had been considering applying to Calvin's relatively new master's program in media and strategic communication. I had the full support of my parents and in early July I made the decision to return."

Communicating her decision to Hilgert came in an unusual way, the check-in line of a July youth softball camp that Biddlecome was scheduled to work. "It probably wasn't the most appropriate time to tell Coach (Hilgert) I wanted to return," she giggled. "It was just the way it kind of worked out."

Hilgert remembers the moment well. "I found out Hannah was coming back on the morning of our summer camp late last July," said Hilgert. "She was working the camp and when she showed up that morning, she found me at the registration table and said 'Coach, can I talk to you for five seconds?' Of course, I was like 'yes, what's up,' thinking she needed to leave early or something like that. When she told me she had decided to apply for the Calvin's master's program and wanted to come back and play for another year I stunningly looked at her and said 'Biddle, this is more than a five second conversation!' We had a good laugh about it and of course I told her the door was always open for her to return."

Krause also remembers the moment. "I would say it was very 'Biddle' of her to come back for a fifth year," said Krause. "It was a nice little surprise. None of us expected her to come back even though she kept joking about it. It was the cherry on top of my senior year for her to come back for one more year."

She was later accepted into the Calvin Master's Program in Media and Strategic Communication.

The decision to return is not without sacrifice as she has dedicated herself to physical conditioning for softball, working a part-time job and taking graduate classes.

Biddlecome's passion is not just limited to softball. It also spills into her work in the classroom. As a junior in the spring semester of 2021, her short film: Stockholm Syndrome was honored with an Award of Merit by the Canada Shorts Film Festival. Biddlecome directed the eight-minute film which was shot in West Michigan and featured a professional actor and actress.


 

Tarp slides at work? Couldn't be a happier employee! @kzoogrowlers pic.twitter.com/wbK7exUdTc

— Little Biddle (@huskiehannah) June 9, 2021

During the summer of 2021, she worked as a video production intern with the professional Kalamazoo Growlers Baseball Club. "It was a great internship," said Biddlecome. "I was able to get behind a camera while also seeing how my decisions affected everyone I worked with. You learn even more how to work with a team. We did a little bit of everything on top of our regular assignment. If that meant pulling the tarp on or off the field with the rest of the grounds crew, that's what we did."
 
She spent Calvin's January 2020 Interim term studying abroad in Northern Ireland through the Artist Collaborative Scholarship program. While in Northern Ireland, she joined Calvin students skilled in studio art, photography, print art, music and videography. "We spent three weeks in Northern Ireland learning about the country's historical troubles politically and religiously," said Biddlecome. "We learned how we can foster reconciliation through art and how we can love each other rather than fight with each other. After three weeks of taking classes, we produced a final art gallery that showcased reconciliation and love between people. My group produced a video of us painting a canvas and we added our own music composition to it as our final project. Our projects were showcased in Belfast and left there through the summer. It was an incredible experience and helped expand my mind from a global perspective."

As a graduate student in Calvin's Master's Program in Media and Strategic Communication program, she has turned her attention to working with a cohort of eight students that works with the Skylight Media Agency. "It's mostly like being a part of a small business," said Biddlecome. "We function like a small-knit media agency and will work this summer with clients in Detroit and other Michigan areas. Our focus will be to work hand-in-hand with clients to focus on their media problems and create solutions to further their business."

She will complete her master's degree in 2024. Future plans may include the film industry, advertising or even working in the field of sports broadcasting.

She credits longtime academic advisor and master's program director Samuel Smartt as playing a key role in her development as well as the film instruction from assistant professor Geert Heetebrij. "They are both outstanding professors and have taught me so much but really it's the whole communication department that is awesome," she says. "One of the things that stands out is the department's ability to adapt to its students and help them learn and grow with their strengths and interests. My professors in the communication department have also been extremely flexible working with me when it comes to my softball schedule."

Back to softball.

Biddlecome credits her daring ways on the base paths to Hilgert. "For me, I just don't think a lot when I play, I just react," she says. "If there's a base that's open in front of me I'm just going to take it. Coach Hilgert doesn't have the philosophy that home runs or big hitters win games. Her philosophy is that runners win games. She's instilled the confidence in me to push forward on the bases."

Hilgert has also served as an extra family member for Biddlecome with her parents Scott and Kelli residing in Texas and her older brother Hasten – a former collegiate soccer goalkeeper – now living and working in Chicago.

"Coach has been a home away from home for me with my parents living in Texas," she says. "She is someone you can go to with softball and with school. She's also been someone I can go to when I've had hard times personally. It's been incredible how much of an impact she has had on me, pushing me to be a better softball player and person."

Hilgert says the honor has been all hers and told the newcomers to the Calvin softball team ahead of 2023 season to enjoy one last ride with Biddlecome.

"Hannah is a player that has had a tremendous impact on our program and culture," said Hilgert. "I said to our team at the end of last year (when I thought she

wasn't returning) that there will never be another player or person like Hannah Biddlecome. She is an original. Her energy, personality and love for her teammates is infectious. In the five plus years I have coached her, I have never seen her have a bad day. I know she has had them, but you could never tell because of the energy she exudes. She loves this game so much. She loves to compete and plays with an unbelievable amount of passion. I told our freshmen this year they have been granted a gift of being able to get to know and observe Hannah as a competitor and teammate. And for me, I feel I have also been given a gift to have another year to coach her and be around her daily."  

Her parents Scott and Kelli along with brother Hasten have made it to as many games as possible on the final ride. Both parents were in attendance at Calvin's conference games with Albion and Hope this week and hope to join Hasten at the University of Chicago on Saturday to watch Hannah play.

"Hasten and my parents are my biggest fans and supporters," said Biddlecome. "Hasten is the first person to share something I do on the softball field on social media. He has always been a great brother who has pushed me along as an athlete as well. I owe so much to my parents. They have been with me every step of the way and supported me in whatever I've chosen to do. I can only thank them for that."

Moving back to her Calvin softball team as they enjoy the last Biddlecome ride, Krause was given one final question: "What's the definition of 'Biddle?"

"A Biddle to be defined, is crazy, goofy, loud, energetic, passionate and motivational," said Krause. "She is the whole shebang."