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Her mother always found it hard to watch the games.
Even as Mary Lou Flippen — then called Mary Lou Ramm — was winning national championships with Utah State in 1980 and 1981, her mother would be in a nearby park, where she couldn't see the drama but would hear the roar of the crowd.
Almost a quarter-century since her own college days, she's developed her own ritual for watching her daughter, Hannah Flippen, play for the Utes. She spurns the shaded seats of Dumke Stadium for a solitary spot past the outfield wall near the scoreboard. When passersby speak to her, it barely registers.
She's locked in.
"I know she gets frustrated and nervous with everything I do," Hannah Flippen said. "Every parent does, but she doesn't like expressing that around people."
But more recently, the seat by the scoreboard has been as good as the front row for what Hannah, a junior second baseman, is doing at the plate. She's leading the 22-11 Utes in batting average (.417), slugging percentage (.813) and home runs (10). Since Pac-12 play began, Flippen has been arguably the most dangerous hitter in the country, registering four homers and a double in her last 17 at-bats, including the ultimate sign of respect — nine intentional walks.
When she gets a crack at pitches, she's had a tendency to rip them out of the park. In a game against Oregon State, she cracked a homer to center that nailed the scoreboard. Sitting right underneath it, Mary Lou got a look at the moon shot, and estimated it might've rolled onto the street behind the stadium if it hadn't been stopped.
"She seems to be hitting with much more power," Mary Lou said of her daughter. "I mean, the field Utah has, that's a big field. It's been exciting to see."
Mom would know. As a Utah State pitcher from 1980-83, Mary Lou won AIAW titles in 1980 and '81 while being named the Most Outstanding Pitcher in the nation. The Aggie Hall of Famer still leads the university in ERA (0.70), wins (78) and shutouts (44).
While Mary Lou credits Utah's coaching staff with developing her daughter as a hitter, the mother-daughter duo remain close confidantes, and they text about strategies, at-bats, and scouting other teams constantly throughout the year.
Hannah's father, John Flippen, is outgoing and vocal at the Utah softball games. An amateur pilot, he's been known to fly over Dumke Stadium in his plane, leaving smoke trails across the sky as his affirmation of his support.
Mary Lou hardly speaks to anyone, concentrating on tips and suggestions she can pass along.
It's no different than their relationship has always been: Mary Lou has been teaching Hannah the game since she was literally in diapers — her only daughter among four children. As Hannah grew up, Mary Lou was her coach, eschewing pitching machines for tossing her real stuff from the circle.
Utah coach Amy Hogue said Hannah came into the program knowing more than the average freshman, and has carried herself like a coach at times.
"She knows more things about the game," she said. "She knows the game differently, the way a coach would. If you listen closely enough, you know the kid knows, she's not just playing."
Fellow infielder and friend Kristen Stewart remembers being wowed from Day 1 by Flippen's aggressive baserunning. Freshmen can be timid on the basepaths, but Flippen didn't have that problem. She had quickness and speed in the field, too, and was sure-handed in the infield.
What's taken longer is developing a power hitter's mentality. Flippen was a leadoff hitter throughout her youth career, but has developed into a run-producer. It requires more patience and precision. She spent much of the offseason looking at her at-bats from last year, and has divined a more selective taste when looking for pitches.
"For me, it's been all about picking strikes," she said. "It's helped the pieces fall into place. There's always been another girl on my team to drive in the runs. Now the thing for me is to be that girl."
Already on pace to outhit her freshman and sophomore season averages, Flippen is one of the Pac-12's most feared batters. Hogue said in the Arizona series performance — which led to her being named espnW's national player of the week — the Wildcats kept trying to pitch to her with different hurlers, and ultimately never succeeded.
The Flippen family makes an intriguing case for the best mother-daughter softball performers in the state of Utah, especially given that Hannah is performing against Pac-12 competition.
At 5-foot-4, she's shorter than her mom was. But given her body of work so far this season, she's no less intimidating. And the scariest part is her mom thinks she's not yet done improving — she texts her so.
Mary Lou hearkens back to her own playing career, when the Aggies lost games during the regular season, but were lights out in the 1980 and 1981 national tournaments. That was before softball team wore batting helmets, but a lesson from those days carries over.
"I think Hannah has been doing so well," said Mary Lou. "But it's not how you start, it's how you finish. And hopefully Hannah and the rest of the team can finish strong, and take themselves a little further than they got last year."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Accomplished mother-daughter duo
Utah State's Mary Lou Flippen (formerly Mary Lou Ramm) and Utah's Hannah Flippen form one of the most compelling mother-daughter softball tandems in state, if not national, history:
Mary Lou Flippen (Ramm)
• Leads Utah State all-time in wins (78), ERA (0.70) and shutouts (44)
• Won AIAW national championships in 1980 and 1981
• All-American in 1980, inductee in USU Hall of Fame in 1993
Hannah Flippen
• NFCA All American Second Team in 2014, twice All-Pac-12
• Fourth in Pac-12 total bases (78), Tied for fourth in home runs (10)
• espnW's player of the week for March 20-27 (.750 BA, .882 OBP, 4 HR, 9 BB)