Extra Inning Softball National Player of the Week (June 3, 2018)

We announce this week’s Extra Inning Softball National High School Player of the Week awards by honoring one pitcher who ended the year perfectly by winning a state title in the Midwest and another pitcher of note who led her team to a NorCal championship and even added a home run to help her cause.!

This will be our final 2018 National High School Player of the Week edition; however, we will now begin taking nominations for Extra Inning Softball ALL-AMERICAN Teams!

If you’d like to nominate players for All-American consideration, email us at [email protected].

***

Extra Inning Softball’s Co-National High School Player of the Week

Sydney Campbell (Keystone, LaGrange, Ohio)

You can’t beat perfection, although sometimes it may take 12 innings to achieve it.

Saturday was championship day in many states including Ohio, Texas and California, but few could match the season that Keystone High—which we profiled earlier this season— put together behind the impressive pitching talents of junior Sydney Campbell.

Keystone finished the season 34-0 and Campbell capped off a 29-0 record with an outstanding performance in the Ohio Division II state title game, a 3-2 win over Beloit West Branch.

It didn’t come easy, though, as it took 12 innings for the team from 40 northeast of Cleveland, to get the win. Campbell, who is committed to Oakland, went from start to finish for the Wildcats giving up just two hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

Both runs she gave up were unearned.

The softball championship was the fourth Div. II title in school history and first since 2012 when it won a National Championship.  The program’s 17th appearance in the state tournament set a state record.

Keystone looked to have the game won in regulation, but the Wildcats’ defense got shaky in the bottom of the 7^th inning as the first two hitters reached on errors.

A two-out single to right tied the game and was also the first hit allowed by Campbell.

The score remained tied until the top of the 12^th when Keystone pushed ahead the eventual winning run on a two-out RBI triple by Marlie McNulty.

Wildcat fans grew nervous in the bottom of the inning when West Branch put a runner on second on a one-out double, but Campbell sealed the win by getting the final two batters to ground back to the pitcher.

Campbell, who admits that she’s not a “strikeout pitcher” told the media after the win: “I think I really proved to everyone today that you don’t need to strike everyone out in order to win.”

Where Keystone ends up being ranked nationally is still to be determined as it was ranked #7 by USA Today heading into the weekend’s action.

On Thursday, Sydney also didn’t have any margin for error as the Wildcats won a tight semi-final win over Fairfield Union 1-0 to advance to the championship game. The shutout was Sydney’s 19^th of the year and in the victory she again only gave up two hits plus one walk while striking out six.

The season stats for Campbell’s dominating season are amazing: a 29-0 record, 215 strikeouts in 171 2/3rds innings, a 0.20 ERA and three perfect games and three no-hitters. Opponents only batted .122 against her as well.

Perhaps most impressive is she only allowed five earned runs all season and six extra-base hits: five doubles, a triple and no home runs and only hit two batters showing her great control and location.

No one is perfect in softball, known to be a “game of failure,” but Sydney came about as close as you’ll find.

Runner-Up National High School Player of the Week

Danielle Williams (Amador Valley, Pleasanton, California)

We like to spread the wealth around when it comes to honors and, although Danielle was the National Player of the Week a month ago (May 6), you can’t ignore the great season—and career—she’s had capped by another stellar week of shutout pitching, as she led Amador Valley to the North Coast Section-Div. 1 title on Saturday.

In the 2-0 win over Foothill (Pleasanton, California), she shined in the circle and at the plate as Danielle scattered four hits while striking out 11 and helped her own cause at the plate as she hit a solo home run in the top of the 4^th inning to stake the Dons to the only run they would need. She also had a two-out double in the first.

These two teams know each other very well—both call Pleasanton home and both compete in the East Bay Athlete League. They played each other four times this year and split the games 2-2.

Foothill’s Nicole May, a heat-throwing right-handed sophomore committed to Oklahoma, and Danielle are the top two pitchers in Northern California and the significance of the title game meant that the winner would likely be the top-rated team in Northern California at the end of the year.

Williams needed to be a shut-down pitcher on Saturday as her team only had three hits against May with two of them being by the senior. Her walk in the top of the 7^th led eventually led to an error by Foothill which allowed an insurance run and the eventual 2-0 final score.

The shutout by the Northwestern signee was her second of the week as she recorded 15 K’s in the semi-final win Wednesday over #1 seed Freedom, 3-0.

And to make the week all that much sweeter, Danielle was announced on Friday as a PGF All-American and one of four pitchers who will represent the West in the PGF All-American Game to take place at 7:30 pm PST  on July 27 in Irvine, California.

Previous Extra Inning Softball National High School Players of the Week

• May 27: P Lexi Kilfoyl (Academy at the Lakes, Land O’ Lakes, Florida)
• May 20: P Ashley Rogers (Meigs County, Decatur, Tennessee)
• May 13 (tie): P Sydney Supple (Oshkosh North, Oshkosh, Wisconsin) /
• May 13 (tie): OF Lexi Voss (Marist, Chicago, Illinois)
• May 6: P Danielle Williams (Amador Valley, Pleasanton, California)
• April 29: P Montana Fouts (East Carter, Grayson, Kentucky)
• April 22: IF Kasey Simpson (Keller, Texas)
• April 15: SS Jayda Coleman (The Colony, Texas)
• April 8: P Megan Faraimo (Cathedral Catholic, San Diego, California)
• April 1: C Macy Simmons (Hamilton, Chandler, Arizona)
• March 25: C Paige Pfent (Springstead, Spring Hill, Florida)
• March 18: SS/OF Deja Westbrook (Arcadia, California)
• March 11: P Megan Faraimo (Cathedral Catholic, San Diego, California)