As 2021 comes to an end, it’s time to look forward to the year ahead in sports.
With the Winter Olympics in February, March Madness on the calendar and a landmark NWSL season to come, women’s sports fans are in store for an exciting year.
Here are the 20 athletes to know or get reacquainted with in 2022:
[Read more…] about CATARINA MACARIO, CHLOE KIM AND MORE: 20 FEMALE ATHLETES TO KNOW IN 2022| THE WORLD GAMES 2022 SEE TEAM USA & ALABAMA’S HALEY McCLENEY GO FOR THE GOLD MEDAL In July 2022, The World Games will be held in Alabama and the softball competition will take place at the Hoover Met. The silver medalists from this week’s Tokyo Olympics, Team USA, will compete next year for both a Gold Medal and a Softball World Championship. Tickets are selling fast! You don’t want to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity. |
Odicci Alexander is going to the pros.
The former JMU pitcher and breakout WCWS star has been drafted to the USSSA Pride.
It makes her the third former Duke to sign with the team, including Jailyn Ford and Megan Good.
Alexander helped lead the Dukes to their first Women’s College World Series appearance in program history, throwing 1,229 total pitches throughout the tournament. She amassed an 18-3 record in the circle with a 1.71 ERA, 204 strikeouts and was named to the all-tournament team.
It’s not like this is the first year Alexander has been great at what she does. She was the 2017 Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year. In 2018 and 2019 she was the CAA Player of the Year, and this year was named Pitcher of the Year.
[Read more…] about ODICCI ALEXANDER SIGNS WITH USSSA PRIDEWAUPUN, Wis. (WBAY) – Some much needed help for a Campbellsport teenager battling brain cancer.
Alexis Feucht plays high school girls softball and in a game Monday night the opposing team took action.
Before Feucht could take the field in Waupun, it was hard not to notice the bake sale and raffle being done, as an attempt to raise money in her fight against brain cancer.
Feucht, who plays shortstop, was diagnosed last fall after a series of bad headaches wouldn’t go away.
She said, “I had no idea what was going on. We thought it was sinuses, we thought it was just because I had a heavy case load for school.”
As Feucht undergoes treatment, she continues to play sports.
She also has friends in Waupun, on the opposing team, and they wanted to help and raise awareness.
“It was also a school project and it started like this could be a small little community event and just to like help as much as we can and it turned into something so much bigger and so much better than we could have imagined,” said friend and event organizer Makenya Potratz.
Dulcie Kind was also among the organizers.
She added, “I’ve known Alexis since we were young and she’s always been a good motivator for me and I played with her on the softball field and she always gives it her hardest and not once since this whole journey she’s been thru has she given up, nothing like that and she keep pushing forward.”
All of the money from the event will help cover the family’s medical expenses. The goal is to raise at least a thousand dollars, knowing that every little bit helps.
Feucht responded, “I am super thankful. It’s unbelievable how much the small towns have come together to just help me out and just makes be feel so much better about having what I have.”
Before the game, Feucht also addressed the crowd, saying she’s optimistic about her chances for a full recovery.
“I’m hoping that it goes within the year of chemo, but you know, I’m going to do what it takes to get rid of this crap,” she told the crowd.
By Greg Billing, Contributing WriterRailroaders
AKRON – The texts started coming in the fifth inning. By the sixth and seventh innings Shon Schaffer’s phone was vibrating almost non-stop with congratulations and celebratory texts.
The Bradford Railroaders’ softball team was still nine outs away from the school’s first team state championship in any sport. But with standout hurler Skipp Miller dealing her 60 mph-plus fastball and a standout defense behind her, Schaffer’s team had Bradford buzzing with confidence.
“I wanted to play more,” said Maggie Manuel. “I was like please don’t end in a run rule.”
Three Bradford teams have reached the state semifinals. The 1982 football team lost 7-6 to Fostoria St. Wendelin. The 2018 softball team lost to Jeromesville Hillsdale, the eventual state champs, 1-0 in eight innings. And now the 2021 Railroaders, who broke through with a dominating tournament run.
Bradford (30-2) outscored their seven postseason opponents 64-1. The Railroaders, ranked No. 4 in the final Ohio High School Softball Coaches poll, knocked off No. 2 New Riegel, No. 3 Mechanicsburg and No. 6 Cuyahoga Heights along the way.
“She’s definitely the best pitcher in the state,” Cuyahoga Heights coach Kyle Manfredonia said. “That rise ball is hard when it’s coming from that low to where it’s ending. It’s like the Montana Fouts girl throwing for Alabama. It’s impossible to hit when it’s coming that fast. She kept it moving and her change-up was sick. She’s good. Really good.”
Miller threw her 12th no-hitter of the season in the state semifinals on Friday in a 11-0, 5-inning victory against New Riegel.
She finished this season with 414 strikeouts, which ranks third in OHSAA single-season history behind Batavia Clermont Northeastern’s Emily Anderson (432 in 2010) and Rocky River’s Leah Black (455 in 1999). Her 12 no-hitters are No. 2 in single-season history behind Richwood North Union’s Jessica Price (15 in 2000).
“Okay, yes, now that I look back and it’s the only hit of the game (it disappointed me),” said a smiling Miller in the postgame interview session. “I should have warmed up more.”
Miller said she battled her nerves through the early innings and felt almost panicked at times with the pressure to win. After that, it was vintage Miller.
“When I got to the fourth inning I finally got my nerves down I felt great. I felt unstoppable,” she said.
Bradford’s offense was, too. New Riegel surrendered a season-high 11 runs against Bradford (and the only team to score double digits). The eight against Cuyahoga Heights was one away from the most runs the Redskins allowed in a game this season.
Nine different Railroaders had hits in the championship game and seven different players scored.
Austy Miller and Abby Fike both had four hits in the state tournament, while Emma Canan and Samantha “Buzz” Brewer each had three. Rylee Canan knocked in three runs and both Millers and E. Canan had two RBI each. E. Canan scored four runs, A. Miller three and Nylani Beireis three and Brewer two.
On defense, third baseman Maggie Manuel had a pair of standout plays in the title game. She chased down a foul ball for one out and charged a slow grounder and threw to Beireis for another.
“(Friday) I was begging just hit me the ball, please,” Manuel said. “Me and Abby (at shortstop) always talk about how we have no action ever. That’s what happens when you have a good pitcher. … I’ve been caught off guard plenty of times. I just try to tell myself the ball could be hit to me at any time. It could happen so I try to keep my head in the game.”
Bradford graduates five seniors from the state championship team with Brewer, E. Canan, Manuel, S. Miller, and Courtney Monnin.
“I’ve got 19 of them that love this game of softball. It was really fun,” said Schaffer, who completed his eighth year as coach. “They make me look like a really good coach because they’re so talented. All 19 of them, all the way through, make my job pretty easy.
“I don’t want this to end. Once we get back home you’ll always have it but not together like this. You just want to savor it.”
Adam Duvall | Peoria Journal Star
TREMONT — Here’s the situation: Tremont leads Illinois Valley Central by a run in the final inning of a Class 2A regional championship softball game. IVC has runners on second and third with no outs. The current batter has a 3-0 count.
Not an ideal scenario with the season on the line.
But not everyone has Paige McAllister in the circle.
All the scores:2021 IHSA softball state tournament schedule, scores, pairings for the Peoria area
The Tremont senior battled back to get a strikeout for the first out, then fell behind 3-1 before sitting down the next batter. She then worked the count full before getting a swinging strike to end the game.
“It’s definitely rattling for a pitcher,” McAllister said of the near disaster, “but I mean, I have confidence in my defense. I know, in the end, I just got to trust my stuff and trust my catcher to catch it. I know my abilities. I just got to stick to that. Be confident.
[Read more…] about ‘Student of the Game’: Pitching Ace Paige McAllister the Heartbeat of Tremont SoftballThe American Gold Sports Alliance is hosting our first Summer Softball Camp July 12th-15th! Learn new skills and drills while having fun with current and former collegiate softball players! Softball camps are camps created with one purpose: Making you a better softball player. With a player-to-coach ratio of 5 to 1, there’s always someone to help you. Never played softball before? Not a problem! Been playing for years? That’s great too! No matter the skill level your athlete be challenged every day through drills, scrimmage games, and training sessions focused on your position. Campers will learn from the best coaches, work with teammates that are just as passionate about the game as they are, and have fun while doing it! Our coaches are all USA Softball Certified and are excited to work with your athlete!
Register Now: https://playpass.com/go/AyCWFiW
Learn More: https://agsa.org/softball-camp-july-2021/
DATE: July 12th-15th
TIME: 9:00am-1:00pm
LOCATION: Ackerman Park, Field #5, Glen Ellyn, IL
PRICE: $29 per day or $99 for all four days
AGE: 6-10 years
SKILL LEVEL: Beginner-Novice
Register Now: https://playpass.com/go/AyCWFiW
Learn More: https://agsa.org/softball-camp-july-2021/#AmericanGoldSports#AGSAGold#Softball
The Maryville University softball team picked up three selections to the 2021 All-Great Lakes Valley Conference team as announced Wednesday by the league office. Taylor Shingler was a first-team selection, and Alyssa Callans and Hannah Tolley both earned second team honors. Tolley was also Maryville’s nominee for the GLVC’s James R. Spalding Sportsmanship award.
When head coach Hannah Quintana of the Ithaca Bombers softball team was a player on the South Hill in 2006 and 2007, the softball program adopted a tradition that was unlike any other. Every freshman class the program receives is given their jersey numbers based on personality of the player, and what they bring to the team. The tradition has stood in the program since head coach Quintana played in 2006 and 2007.
As the freshmen settle into their roles on the team and get familiar with their teammates and coaches, both the upperclassmen and the coaches evaluate which jersey is best for each player and meet to discuss to decide which freshman receives which jersey. Quintana said that being a part of the program previously and knowing more stories makes the process even more special for her.
[Read more…] about Softball Players and Alumni Connect Through Jerseys
