SIUC junior outfielder Jaymie Cowell has a passion for pressure. Give her a full count, bases loaded, down by three runs with two-out situation, and her eyes light up.

Dealing with pressure made Cowell a two-time Junior College All-American at Rend Lake College before joining the Salukis this season. But the decision to enroll at Rend Lake put Cowell in the biggest pressure situation of her life turning her back on her hometown fans in Brazil, Ind.

Cowell had put Brazil, population about 15,000, into a frenzy as a prep. A four-year letter winner at Northview High School, Cowell took her team to a second-place finish in its first-ever state tournament.

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Her name graced the headlines of the local newspapers from the time she stepped on the softball diamond, and she was set to continue her legacy at nearby Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis.

But Cowell’s scholarship offer at IUPUI, which was originally set to pay for 75 percent of her tuition, was surprisingly reduced to $1,000 per year. She later found it was the result of wrongdoings by the IUPU coach, who was fired shortly after.

Fans failed to realize this, and her choice to attend Rend Lake did not sit well with the Brazil residents.

People just went nuts, Cowell said. They thought that junior college was for stupid people.

But once I went there, I found out that it helps a lot. It’s cheaper, and you get your core classes out of the way. It’s just that you’re at a two-year school instead of a four-year school.

Cowell managed to win back over some of the fans, as she posted several records at Rend Lake. She holds career records for home runs (29), runs scored (155), hits (207), doubles (55) and walks (63) at the Ina school.

Junior college also gave her the opportunity to play for the NJCAA team in the Canada Cup International, where she competed with national Olympic teams.

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SIUC coach Kay Brechtelsbauer knew about Cowell’s talents but was sold on her performance in the Southern Classic last year.

She had good stats, but when we had her in our tournament last year, she hit one out against another team, Brechtelsbauer said. I really liked her hitting skills, and that’s what kind of sealed it for us.

Cowell, along with junior third baseman Nikki Beard, are the only Salukis to have experience at the juco level. Beard starred at Illinois Central College in Peoria in 1996-97.

Beard agrees with Cowell on how the public perceives the junior college athlete. Most view it as a place for underachieving academics or athletes not talented for Division I.

She turned down a chance to play at Western Illinois University to touch up her skills at ICC, before making the leap. At no point in high school did Beard feel her athletic or academic ability would not meet Division I-A requirements.

I never doubted my ability, Beard said. I just wanted to make sure I got the playing time and experience. I had never been faced with not ever getting play. Now that I look back on it, I wouldn’t trade it in.

Disappointing preseason performances and watching Saluki freshmen center fielder Marta Viefhaus, third baseman Julie Meier and pitcher Erin Stremsterfer make immediate impacts at this level caused Cowell and Beard to second guess their decisions. Cowell hit 1-for-13 in the fall, while Beard outdid her counterpart by going 0-for-17.

I just told them, You don’t have to prove anything to me,’ Brechtelsbauer said. They know they have two years left and they have to prove themselves quickly. That, I think, put additional pressure on them.

Cowell admits to listening to the doubters.

I think we were listening to people a lot, Cowell said. Everybody kept saying it was such a big jump from juco and that we couldn’t handle it.

Our whole team are perfectionists. I’ve never been one, but now they were starting rub off on me. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself.

Both have relaxed and settled into a more comfortable role on the team this spring. In left field Cowell, who has never batted below .300, is hitting .270 with two homers and 12 RBIs. Beard has been battling with Meier for playing time at third base since returning from an shoulder injury March 27.

Brechtelsbauer expects her two transfers to overcome adversity and help the team down the stretch.

Right now, Nikki Beard is right where I expect her to be, and Jaymie Cowell is starting to come into her own as a hitter, Brechtelsbauer said. We’ve still got a pretty good part of our season to go, and as long as they can keep getting better with the rest of our team, I’ll be pleased.