ST. AMANT, La. - Before LSU softball's Alix Franklin was robbing home runs in the NCAA tournament and making it in the SportsCenter Top Ten, she spent her days at St. Amant High School with the Lady Gators softball team.

"I knew there was something special about this kid," said St. Amant head softball coach Amy Pitre. "The things she just did naturally, you knew there was something special about her."

Even though Franklin has since traded her Gators uniform for the purple and gold of LSU, she's never all that far from her old team, which worked in her favor while she was a freshman with the Tigers last season. A season in which she only played in two games.

"One thing about Alix is that she's a hard worker," said Pitre. "Last season was rough on her. She was used to playing every day here and being the best in high school."

After not seeing the field much in year one of her college career, Franklin got to work to change that for year two.

"She came in the Summer," said Pitre. "And I know she got to work at LSU, but when she wasn't working there, she was out here calling me to toss balls, hit balls, whatever."

Franklin's biggest moment of her Tiger career so far came in the Baton Rouge Regional Final against Virginia Tech, a home run robbing catch at the outfield. The impact of that catch was felt all the way back in St. Amant.

"We have a mini-camp in early June," said Pitre. "As soon as Alix made that catch, I feel like I had 20 kids sign up. Everybody here knows who Alix Franklin is. I would love to have her come back here and coach."