To softball pitchers in the Big 12, ISU first baseman Erica Miller may be one of the most feared home run hitters in the conference, but Miller’s personality is anything but intimidating.

“When a joke really needs to be cracked, she’s always a good candidate to do it,” said ISU coach Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cesler. “There is always that part of her that has the ability to laugh, but at the same time she’s really serious when it comes to playing, but it’s a good balance.”

Miller, a sophomore, is currently tied for fifth all-time in school history for home runs in a season with nine, needing just three more to break the record.

The Cyclone first baseman already has three homers in Big 12 play, behind only Dani Leal of Baylor and Lexy Bennett of the University of Texas — who have four each — for best in the conference.

“I’ve been really working with our strength and conditioning coach just to get stronger,” Miller said of her increased production this year. “I’ve been trying to work on mechanics with the coaches here and over the summer with my batting coach at home.”

When she is not hitting home-runs, Miller can often be found channeling her inner Ricky Bobby, encouraging her teammates to “shake n’ bake.”

“We both like the movie ‘Talledega Nights’ and we love Will Ferrell, so at the beginning of the season, when I hit a home run and she yelled ‘That’s the way to shake n’ bake!’ and it pretty much started from there,” said ISU left fielder Tori Torrescano.

If a dose of comedy is not working to keep her teammates loose, Miller has also been known to spontaneously burst out into a Blink 182 song during practice.

“I’ve always been kind of the goofy, random person that tries to make a joke and I like to sing a lot like during practice,” Miller said. “Sometimes when the losses are coming, people can get kind of tense at points so I just think, you know what, just stay positive.”

Aside from her ability as an entertainer, what makes Miller so valuable to the Cyclones is her work ethic and approach to the game.

“I love having Erica on the team. I love having her come up to bat because I’m confident in her,” said ISU pitcher Rachel Zabriskie. “She always has a good at-bat even if she doesn’t get a hit, she still has a good at-bat. Her mindset is to come back and get it the next time, and she will.”

On a young Cyclone squad where 10 of the 18 players are freshmen, Miller has stepped up into a leadership role in her second season as one of just three returning starters.

“As a player, she’s a very hard worker and she’s a great competitor,” Gemeinhardt-Cesler said. “She definitely carries herself with confidence, which is really important.”

The Cyclones (19-19, 1-7 Big 12) are about to enter a tough stretch of their schedule featuring the Iowa Hawkeyes and nationally ranked Big 12 teams like No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 8 Missouri and No. 10 Baylor.