Bruno Godwin has seen the determination in his daughter’s eyes too many times to doubt that she’ll accomplish whatever goal has ignited her motivation.

Karli Godwin was only 5 years old when she wanted to try softball, so Bruno rolled her a grounder, which took a high bounce and hit her in the mouth. They rinsed away the blood and she looked him in the eye: “Hit me another one, Daddy. I promise I’ll catch it.”

She was only 7 when she learned about the Lady Lightning 18U travel team: “Daddy, I’ll be good enough to play on that team one day.”

She was 11 when they were tracking a 400-pound black bear through the woods of North Carolina: “I’m killin’ him, Daddy.”

She caught the ball.

Made the team.

Killed the bear.

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Bruno doesn’t question Karli’s ability to fulfill her dreams. That’s why when he planned his family’s trip from their tiny hometown of Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina, to watch Karli and the Oklahoma State Cowgirls in the Women’s College World Series, he made sure to book their Oklahoma City stay all the way through the finals — because that’s how far Karli is intent on the Cowgirls going.

Fifth-seeded OSU faces fourth-seeded Florida in the first round of the WCWS at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Devon Park, and Karli, an 18-year-old freshman, will be in her usual spot, playing first base and batting cleanup for coach Kenny Gajewski’s squad.

Karli has been one of the most important ingredients in the Cowgirls’ success this year, setting the program’s freshman record for home runs with 15, while batting .344 with 51 RBIs.

Despite never playing first base before she arrived at OSU, she has committed just one error in 494 chances.

Her competitive drive is immaculate, but her strength and toughness stand out above all.

“She’s country strong,” Gajewski said. “She’s a special kid. She’s a worker and that’s one of the things that’s really cool about her, because she just works.

“She’s a kid who went home every day after school and hit with her dad. And they didn’t just hit softballs. They hit trees. They swung an ax. They hit a heavy bag. Work is just what she knows, and then you put talent and skill with that, it creates what you see.”

From her thick Southern accent to her affinity for hunting any creature she could find in the Carolina bays around Lake Waccamaw, Karli is a unique character in the Cowgirl dugout, yet she’s a perfect fit because of her desire to be great.

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Karli Godwin: The bear hunter

Bruno introduced Karli to hunting at around 6 or 7 years old on the land near their home and in the vicinity around Lake Waccamaw. She was instantly drawn to it.

“She just loved being in the woods at daybreak,” Bruno said.

Together, they’d hunt anything they could find in the southeastern swamps of North Carolina. Ducks, turkeys, deer, bobcats, bears and more.

The only sad part for Bruno was that Karli became so independent as a hunter, she eventually got past the point where she needed her father around.

“It was fun for her to hunt with dad for a little while, but then she was like, ‘I wanna go do this by myself,” Bruno said. “I wanna show you I can do it. That’s just who she is. She’s one of the most determined people I’ve ever met in my life.”

Karli says she began driving a truck in the backwoods at around 9 or 10, and she was 11 the first time she killed a deer on her own.

“I love hunting with my dad, but there’s just something peaceful about it that I can always go back to,” Karli said. “But I would have to drag the deer out of the woods by myself.”

While her younger sister, Aleigh, is more drawn to fishing, duck hunting has long been a favorite of Karli’s, which was something Bruno had stopped doing before she wanted to give it a try.

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“All the boys at school were going duck hunting, and the Duck Commander TV shows had come on,” Bruno said. “We got up one morning and I took her, and I could just see the light in her eyes. She didn’t even care if we shot anything. She just loved being out there and seeing it.

“We do a lot in the marshes, so you’re out there wading and getting wet, and not once has she ever said, ‘Daddy, I’m ready to go.’ She’ll be wet and freezing, and I’m freezing, but she’s staying til the ducks quit flying.”

Of course, the hunting story that caught the softball world’s attention earlier this month is the 412-pound black bear she killed at age 14 — a story that was shared during national TV broadcasts of the Bedlam series.

“Her Applewatch said it was 9 miles that we chased that bear before we finally killed it,” Bruno said. “We were tracking it through these Carolina bays, and that’s not park walking, by no means. You’re having to dig your way through a lot of this vegetation.

“She finally killed him, and it was a big moment.”

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‘It’s really been surreal’

If anything can challenge hunting as the primary bonding force for Karli and her father, softball has the best shot.

Though Karli tried a variety of other things, from dance to basketball to soccer, softball always rose above.

She started playing at age 5, with Bruno as her coach. They soon began making regular trips to the rec league fields of Elizabeth Brinkley Park where he’d pitch to her.

“I’d give her a work plan to do every day while I was at work,” said Bruno, who was a wildland firefighter for 25 years but now owns his own business so he has the freedom to travel the country and watch Karli play. “When I got home, if she had done her work plan, the reward was we got to go to the field.”

As Karli’s knack for power hitting began to emerge, Bruno made an offer: every home run she hit in their batting practice sessions, he’d go pick up the ball. Every hit that stayed inside the fence, she had to pick up.

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“For the first year or so, I was getting the better end of the deal,” he said. “But before long, I was picking up more balls than she was.”

When it comes to her competitive drive, Karli had no escape. Both Bruno and Karli’s mother, Natalie, are competitive souls.

“One time we played a game of Monopoly that lasted a week,” Bruno said. “Karli learned from us that you don’t never give up, you don’t never feel sorry for yourself. You just dig in and keep going.”

With that motivation, plus her work ethic and natural talents, Karli has excelled at every level of softball.

Remember that 18U travel team she promised she’d play for someday? She became the starting third baseman — at age 12.

She was a top-10 recruit out of high school, and has stepped in as a key player for one of the country’s top college programs.

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“My family, as much I argue with them and they drive me crazy, I wouldn't be here without them," Karli said. “They always pushed me to keep going, no matter how hard it is. There are times where it sucks, but you just have to push through, and you realize it’s all worth it in the end.”

Whether it was travel-ball games and practices or trips to college camps, Karli and Bruno have spent an unimaginable amount of time together in the car, strengthening their bond even more, and dreaming of what could be in Karli’s softball future.

And one of those dreams becomes reality Thursday at the WCWS.

“It’s really been surreal,” Bruno said. “We sat and we talked about this on all those car rides. That was her goal.

“Having that time with her, I wouldn’t trade it for nothing in the world. I’ve always said I’d do everything I could to see my little girl smile, and she’s continuing to smile playing this game.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State softball star Karli Godwin loves bear hunting with dad