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High school softball continues across the country and we honor those athletes who have shined on the field!
Each Tuesday for the next several months we’ll honor top performances nationwide; if you’d like to have a player considered, scroll down to see how to fill out a nomination.
Games are for Sunday, Apr. 10, 2022 through Saturday, Apr. 16, 2022…
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Extra Inning Softball’s National High School Player of the Week
* Madison Knight, a senior at Patterson Mill High in Bel Air, Maryland, got it done in a big way for her team both at the plate and in the circle.
Madison, who also goes by the nickname “Mayday,” went 6-for-6 with four home runs, a double and single over the course of the week with seven RBI’s in three games played.
Pitching-wise, she went 3-0 and in 16 innings gave up just one hit, but what was really impressive was her dominance by the strikeout.
Madison struck out 44 of the 48 potential outs as she pitched seven innings in Game 1 striking out 19 of 21 batters; tossed four innings in Game 2 and struck out 11 of 12 faced and then threw a 5-inning no-hitter in Game 3 while striking out 14 of 15 batters faced.
“Mayday’s” ERA was 0.00 for the week and she walked just three.
Through Patterson Mill High’s first nine games, the Syracuse-bound athlete was hitting .600 with 18 RBIs, a 1.720 slugging percentage and 2.442 OPS as she had 15 hits—eight of which were home runs along with four doubles and three singles—and 10 walks including seven intentional ones. Of her 36 plate appearances, 11 ended up in free passes.
Madison also went 9-0 to open the season with 129 K’s versus just 11 hits and 11 walks. And she had a perfect 0.00 ERA while limiting opponent to just a 0.63 ERA. The most hits given up a game in her nine? Just two.
Last year, the senior’s high school team went 22-0 and won the 1A Maryland State title and currently is on a 32-game winning streak. Mayday was honored as the 2021 Maryland Gatorade Player of the Year as well as 2021 USA Today Maryland Softball Player of the Year.
The athlete feels she has taken her game up a notch this year after putting in the time since her junior season.
“I am really proud of the work I put in over the winter,” she told Extra Inning Softball this week. “Last year, I felt my rise and change really needed to improve in order to keep hitters off balance. Overall, I am happy with the results so far!”
“But what I am most proud of,” she concluded, “is that I get to step onto the field with my sister Mackenzie! She is our starting centerfielder, leads off for us and is having a great year. It’s just so awesome to be out there with her!”
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Runner-Up National Players of the Week
* Ansley Armstrong, a junior catcher and shortstop from Hayden (Alabama) High and a member of the Birmingham Thunderbolts Premier 18U team, was on fire last week as she batted .846 with a .882 on-base percentage.
In five games, the 2023 grad had 11 hits with five of them being home runs. She also had 10 RBIs with four walks and added three steals.
For the season, the Southern talent who is committed to Purdue is batting .509 with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs.
Ansley has helped lead her team to an 18-4 record at week’s end after the school was the 5A State champs in 2019 and won the County championship 11 years in a row.
The junior was ranked #15 in the 2023 Extra elite 100 and #4 for catchers. She also plays basketball for Hayden High.
Extra Inning asked the talented backstop if she felt like every pitch was coming in as big as a beachball.
“I was in a zone and wasn’t trying to do anything crazy,” Ansley explained. “I felt like I was struggling a bit early on and then everything just clicked together after a hitting lesson with Coach Rocky (Thompson, the head coach of the Thunderbolts 18U team). I was just trying to hit gap-to-gap.”
Ansley added that her favorite hit for the week was against West Point High from Cullman, Alabama.
“They are a ranked team and doing really well, plus we struggled against them last time,” she continued. “We were losing by two runs in the bottom of the sixth and I hit a three run home run to go ahead 6 to 5. We ended up winning the game 7 to 6.”
* Kadie Becker, a junior pitcher/DH for South Caldwell High in Hudson, North Carolina, pitched in two games this week including a one-hitter to beat the #2-ranked team in the state.
The Charlotte commit had 19 K’s in the pair of wins with just one earned run given up and five hits and two walks.
Kadie also had four home runs to help run her season record to 11-1 with a 0.83 ERA. She has 110 K’s in 67 innings pitched while allowing just a .133 batting average against.
Earlier this year, the dominating pitcher threw a three-hitter to beat the #1 ranked team in the state.
* Haley Pucci, a senior pitcher for Danbury (Connecticut) High, gave up just one hit in two games as she threw a no-hitter with 17 K’s in Game 1 and then threw a one-hitter with 18 K’s in Game 2.
Haley, who will attend Carnegie Mellon and has a 4.6 GAP, also had a home run with three RBIs to help her team.
Danbury (6-0) SP Haley Pucci threw a one-hit shutout with 18 Ks in today's 1-0 win over New Canaan #ctsb pic.twitter.com/b1DKOJLyka
— Will Aldam (@AldamWill) April 15, 2022
*** Scroll down to read about more outstanding performances across the nation in high school softball last week!
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Nomination Process
Each week during the spring and summer high school seasons, Extra Inning Softball honors a National High School Player of the Week.
Honoree are announced every Tuesday; cutoff for submitting the nominations is each Monday at noon EST/9 am PST.
We’re looking for standouts who excelled in the circle, at the plate or in the field so be sure to nominate your favorite performance(s) by submitting the following:
- Player Name
- Grad Year (example: Class of 2022 or Senior)
- Position(s)
- High school team name with city/state
- Stats for the week (be as detailed as possible!)
- Up-to-date season stats if possible
- Recruiting information if applicable
- Any interesting background on the player
- Action and/or head shots
- If possible, contact info if we’d like more info or quotes
Email info and photos (1-4 as available) by the cutoff of Monday at noon EST/9 am PST to: [email protected].
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Extra Inning Softball National High School Players of the Week (Historically)
2022
- Apr. 12: OF Chelsea Mack (Brecksville, Ohio)
- Apr. 5: P/IF Madison Inscoe (Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, Suffolk, Virginia)
- Mar. 29: P Rose Malen (Marin Catholic, Kentfield, Calif.)
- Mar 22: P Katie Kutz (Bishop O’Connell, Arlington, Virginia)
- Mar. 15: IF Tanya Windle (Cactus, Glendale, Arizona)
- Mar. 8: P Jayden Nishi (South, Torrance, California)
- Mar. 1: P Marissa McCann (Willow Canyon, Surprise, Arizona)
- Feb. 22: 1B Sydney Lewis (Prosper, Texas)
2021
- June 15: P Eden Bingham (Rustburg, Virginia)
- June 8: P Lauren Derkowski (York, Elmhurst, Illinois)
- June 1: SS Shayne Immke (St. Joseph-Ogden, St. Joseph, Illinois)
- May 25: OF Cassidy McLellan (Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton, Florida)
- May 18: IF Abby Ota (Joel Barlow (Redding, Connecticut)
- May 11: IF Kali Heivilin (Three Rivers, Michigan)
- May 4: P Maya Johnson (St. Joseph Academy, Cleveland, Ohio)
- Apr. 27: P/UT Karlyn Pickens (North Buncombe, Weaverville, North Carolina)
- Apr. 20: P/IF Madison Inscoe (Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, Suffolk, Virginia)
- Apr. 13: P Keagan Rothrock (Roncalli, Indianapolis, Indiana)
- Apr. 6: C Jayla Castro (Rocklin, California)
- Mar. 30: SS Brooke Blankenship (River Ridge, New Port Richey, Florida)
- Mar. 23: SS Rylee Cloud (Fairview, Grant, Louisiana)
- Mar. 16: IF Jenna Madison (Curry, Jasper, Alabama)
- Mar. 9: P/IF Annabelle Widra (Spain Park, Hoover, Alabama)
- Mar. 2: C/3B Elizabeth Moffitt (Prosper, Texas)
2020
- Season cancelled in March due to COVID-19 pandemic
- Mar. 17: P Kenzi Lyall (Alleghany, Sparta, North Carolina)
- Mar. 10: C Maci Bergeron (Notre Dame, Crowley, Louisiana)
- Mar. 3: IF Jayda Coleman (The Colony, Texas)
- Feb. 26: IF/P Micaela Wark (Reedy, Frisco, Texas)
2019
- Jun. 10: P/1B Sydney Supple (North, Oshkosh, Wisconsin)
- May 27: P Aynslie Furbush (Winter Springs, Florida)
- May 20: SS Bailey Dowling (St. Joseph-Ogden, St. Joseph, Illinois)
- May 13: P Britton Rogers (Cypress Ranch, Cypress, Texas)
- May 6: C Neely Peterson (Cypress Creek Middle, Wesley Chapel, Florida)
- Apr. 29: OF/IF/P Angela Zedak (Marist, Chicago, Illinois)
- Apr. 22: SS Kali Heivilin (Three Rivers, Michigan)
- Apr. 15: 3B Trinity Cannon (Forney, Texas)
- Apr. 8: P/1B Sydney Supple (North, Oshkosh, Wisconsin)
- Apr. 1: OF Leea Hanks (Eustis, Florida)
- Mar. 25: P/IF Madison Inscoe (Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, Suffolk, Virginia)
- Mar. 18: 1B/OF Avery Goelz (Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton, Florida)
- Mar. 11: OF/2B Tanya Windle (Cactus, Glendale, Arizona)
- Mar. 4: SS Hallie Wacaser (Bentonville West, Centerton, Arkansas)
- Feb. 25: P Stevie Hansen (Norco, California)
2018
- 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)