Junior third baseman Sydney Romero is leading the Sooners at the plate right now. She has the highest batting average on the team — .491 — through the first 19 games of the season, but, when she's not blasting home runs or throwing opponents out at first, Romero is practicing a different hobby:

Photography.

Romero has won back-to-back national championships, has started at third base in almost every game the Sooners have played since she arrived on campus and has been a consistent hitter for Oklahoma. For athletes, sports are oftentimes a release from school and the outside world, but competing at such a high level can be a stresser of its own. For Romero, photography is a release.

The coaches talk about having something to go to on the side if the players are ever stressed about softball, Romero said, and taking pictures is one of those things for her. She hasn’t done much photography during the season yet, though.

"I think what's the big thing is having a balance, especially in what we do — the season's so long, we play so many games — have something else to go to," assistant coach J.T. Gasso said. "Just to take your mind off softball. We try to preach to have something outside of that, so it's pretty cool that (Romero) uses photography."

She's always had a passion for photography, but she hadn't started using a real camera until the fall. Her sister, Sierra Romero — who played softball at Michigan and now plays professionally for the USSSA Pride — found out about her new interest and used it as inspiration for a Christmas present.

“For Christmas, I was trying to think of gifts, and I was like, ‘Well, I’m always big on supporting my siblings and whatever they want to pursue,’” Sierra Romero said. “So I was like, ‘Well, I guess I’ll just get her a camera because I know she’ll use it, and she’ll really love it.’”

When Sydney opened her gift at her home in California, she was excited, Sierra Romero said, and she immediately started playing with the different settings and taking pictures of the rest of her family opening presents.

A new chapter in the university now begins with the potential for a new power triangle — Riley, Gallogly and Castiglione.

“I think that’s been a big part of the previous success, was the relationship between Bob and Joe and President Boren and how well they all work together,” Riley said. “And so (Gallogly's) the leader of our university, he’s my boss, and he’s always going to be a big part of what we’re doing.”

Sydney Romero said she likes to photograph sunsets — of the photos she's taken so far, her favorite is a picture of a branchy tree with a background that fades from dark blue at the top to a hot orange glow on the horizon line.

Her teammates are some other favorite subjects of hers right now, she said. Junior second baseman Caleigh Clifton and junior outfielder Kylie Lundberg have already been two of Romero's subjects when she took photos of them on Clifton's land in Wayne, Oklahoma.

"I also think it's awesome that she has something to do outside of softball," Lundberg said. "It's a way to get — not away from the field — but (to) also have something interesting that she likes to do."

Romero has even made a photography Instagram page to show off her work. She said it was Lundberg's idea. The page, @sydneyjoy_photography, has over 3,400 followers, and her photos get 707 likes on average. Romero has posted pictures of Clifton, Lundberg, her sisters and others. In her most-liked photo, Romero captures her younger sister Sophia on a beach as an intense yellow sun sets, surrounded by a pink sky that fades into a purple hue as it meets the purple-blue ocean water.

"It's something I enjoy doing away from softball," Romero said. "Something I go to if I need it."

Romero likes to take pictures of occasions and relationships — she took photos of J.T. Gasso and his wife Andrea's gender reveal for their second child. The photos featured Joseph Gasso, the couple’s first child, and a few pink balloons. In one picture, Joseph is holding the balloons on a small bridge on OU’s campus with fall trees behind him. Her photo makes good use of photography techniques like the leading lines of the sidewalks, trees and lampposts. In another, she uses depth of field, making Joseph the focus while the balloons and the rest of the background are out of focus.

J.T. Gasso was unaware of Romero’s photography skills and didn't know the photo shoot was happening until his wife showed him the pictures, and he thought it was cool that she had found a hobby outside of softball.

"Sometimes you get so wrapped up in this that you don't know beyond," he said. "I was impressed, more than anything."

Right now, Romero just takes pictures of her friends for fun, but she's hoping to start getting clients after she talks to Oklahoma's compliance department, which is designed to make sure student-athletes and the athletic department are complying with NCAA regulations. The compliance office can determine whether Romero would violate any NCAA rules if she were to take on clients, as athletes typically aren’t allowed to accept money while playing.

“Right now, it’s more for fun,” Romero said. “(I’m) just getting better at it.”