A year ago, Nicole Barber burst upon the Division I softball scene in a cloud of dust and emerged in record fashion.
Barber, a 5-foot-9 center fielder, lettered in softball, volleyball, track and field and volleyball in high school.
She earned first-team All-State softball honors as a junior and finished first in the triple jump and second in the long jump as a senior.
But those accomplishments pale in comparison to the success Barber had in her first season as a Bulldog. Not only did she set single-season school records in batting average (.414), runs (48), hits (79), triples (five) and on-base percentage (.454), she set a Southeastern Conference single-season record with 56 stolen bases.
Barber has picked up where she left off last season and, incredibly, may be an even better demon -- or maybe Tasmanian Devil -- on the basepaths.
Barber stole two bases last weekend against No. 5 LSU to push her consecutive streak to 41 this season. She has swiped 52 straight bases dating back to last season, which is fifth on the NCAA's all-time list for consecutive stolen bases.
East Carolina's Laura Crowder holds the record with 69 consecutive stolen bases, but Barber isn't preoccupied with that record.
She just wants to continue to wreak havoc on the basepaths, especially since most teams know she is going to attempt to steal each time she gets on base.
"I think it makes it more fun. It is more of a challenge," Barber said. "The other night they were like, 'You know she is going on the first pitch,' and I still made it. It is kind of like rubbing their face in it and saying I beat you anyway."
Speed is Barber's biggest weapon. Even though Georgia strength and conditioning coach Eric Fears timed the Bulldogs in baserunning drills in the fall, Barber said those times weren't accurate because he went off the players' first steps and hers was behind the others.
Since then, she said her first step has gotten a lot faster.
"When I did track, it was all about getting out of the blocks, and I just assume the base is like a block for me," Barber said.
But Barber said getting a fast start out of a block in track is nothing like getting a good jump off a base.
"Going off first base, you can time yourself off the pitch and you can go when you feel like it," Barber said. "On a block, your nerves are building up and you have to wait for that gun. But I guess they are the same in the sense that you can't leave too early."
Georgia coach Lu Harris-Champer said Barber has an instinctive ability to know when to go.
"From all of her years of playing ball, she knows what on time is," Harris-Champer said. "From her track, she has the ability to get a great start."
Barber also has the ability to terrorize opposing catchers.
"It is the most annoying thing you will ever face, somebody who can slide and see everything that is going on and read other players," Georgia catcher Shannon McKeon said.
Needless to say, McKeon is ecstatic that she doesn't have to try to throw out Barber. She said a catcher has a split second to catch the ball, get a good release and make a good throw.
Then the fielder has to catch the ball and apply the tag, which can prove troublesome if someone like Barber can slide around or away from the tag.
"Barber is just as fast as lightning," McKeon said. "I think she can outrun any catcher."
Barber is more than just a stolen-base wiz. She leads the team in runs (40), hits (58), is tied for the lead in triples (five) and is second in batting average (.392). She also hasn't committed an error in center field in 45 games.
But Barber has made her mark so far as a thief, and odds are she will continue to do so with amazing success.
"She knows she can do it," Harris-Champer said. "I think she knew she could do it last year, but I don't know if she knew she could steal as easily at this level."
