Extra Inning Softball’s National High School Player of the Week – Mar. 28, 2023

More and more states and schools are hitting the high school fields as we’ve officially hit Spring as of yesterday (Sunday, March 20).

In Week 6 of our 2023 National High School Player of the Week series for the Spring campaign, we again honor those athletes who have shined on the field over the last week.

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, Mar. 19, 2023 through Saturday, Mar. 25, 2023…

Note also that these players having great weeks will also be in consideration for our Extra Inning Softball All-American Teams to be released later this year!

But, admittedly, this was the toughest week in a while to spotlight and honor just one player!

For example, you had four players alone who were perfect with the stick and were honored as MaxPreps/NFCA High School Players of the Week:

• • In the West Region, Rylee McCoy of Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.) High went 6-for-6 in one game with 10 RBIs (!) and finished the week 12-for-12 with three dingers, six dobules and 18 RBIs to help her team go 3-0.
  • In the North, you had Makenna Steele of Fairfield (Goshen, Ind.) High kick off her season going 7-for-7 hitting and reaching base safely all eight at-bats as she had two games where, in each, she came up just shy of hitting for the cycle (one win she was a home run short and in another was a triple shy!).
  • Down in the South, Mary Ryan Hinson of South Stanly (Norwood, S.C.) High was a perfect “10” (or “12”) as she was 10-for-10 in the batter’s box with a home run, two doubles and five RBIs while also reaching base safely in every one of her dozen plate appearances.
  • And, in the South Central Region, Roxy Stone of Southwestern Heights (Kismet, Ks.) High hit the opening of the season with a great start as she batted 9-for-9 with six RBIs, five runs scored and three steals in two games.

Those were all outstanding, but we are going to head to Alabama for our EIS National Player of the Week and look at the week, her season and, equally important, how this athlete is helping her team make the national rankings…

*****

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

* One fun reason to honor Ashlynn Campbell, the senior shortstop and slapper extraordinaire, is because of her appropriate nickname: “Soup.” (Get it? Campbell’s soup?)

But the Purdue signee is much more than a food-related moniker as she’s helped her Wetumpka (Ala.) High team keep its momentum going and improve to a 32-1 record after winning a fourth straight consecutive tournament—the Gulf Shores Classic II last week—to enter the Extra Elite 80 high school rankings at No. 17.

In eight games, the Big Ten-bound athlete went 16-for-27 (a .593 batting average) and had a .607 OBP to go along with 14 runs scored, nine RBIs and seven stolen bases.

Ashlynn, who was ranked as a Top 50 player in the 2023 Extra Elite 100 and was a 1^st Team Extra Inning High School All-American last year, is hitting just shy of .600 on the year (.594) with an OBP of .653 as she’s gone 60-for-101.

Equally impressive, her 53 runs scored on the season and 42 stolen bases puts her 2^nd nationally according to MaxPreps.

Another nod in Ashlynn’s favor to be POW is the fact she’s the only senior on the team and is helping Wetumpka High get national attention despite being a small-town school.

So what’s made the difference this year?

“This team has really come together and meshed this year,” Ashlynn told Extra Inning Softball earlier today. “We had a disappointing end to our season last year and Coach (Daryl) Otwell has really stressed to us on locking in and trying to keep the disappointment and distractions of last year from hanging over into this year. Our theme for the year is #LockedIN, so we have been trying to focus on that.”

And the 32-1 record… what is behind this year’s successful run?

“We have been able to use our different skill sets from each player better this year and things have been working out,” the 2023 grad continued. “That is one thing that has really made this team special. Everyone on this team serves a purpose and plays as a team and not as individuals.”

And, we asked Ashlynn, to what does she attribute her great numbers this season?

“I feel as I have been able to read defenses better and pick up on not just the play, but what may be happening after that particular play and take advantage of a mistake or breakdowns in defense,” she explained.

“I feel as if my short game and driving the balls to gaps have really improved. As a slapper, you have so many tools to work with, so I just try to use the one that is working best. When that tool is taken away, I use another one.”

During the Summer, Ashlyn competes for the national championship-winning Birmingham Thunderbolts 18U team coached by Rocky Thompson.

*** Scroll down to read about more outstanding performances across the nation in high school softball last week!

*****

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 2023 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: info@extrainningsoftball.com.

*****

Previous 2023 Extra Inning Softball National High School Players of the Week

• Mar. 21: 1B Madilynn George (Rouse, Leander, Texas)
• Mar. 14: OF Aniya Merritt (Lumberton, N.C.)
• Mar. 7 (tie):  P Jazzy Francik (Melbourne, Fla.) & P Julie Kelley (Spruce Creek, Port Orange, Fla.)
• Feb. 28: P Jayden Heavener (Pace, Fla.)
• Feb. 21: P/SS Lexie Warncke (East Bernard, Texas)
• Feb. 13: OF Gigi Ganje (Aliso Niguel, Aliso Viejo, Calif.)

---

Extra Inning Softball National High School Players of the Week (Prior to 2023)

2022

• June 14: P Courtney Layne (Appomattox County, Appomattox, Virginia)
• June 7: SS Graciela Dominguez (James Madison, Vienna, Virginia)
• May 31: 1B Macee Eaton (Wheelersburg, Ohio)
• May 24: P Karyln Pickens (North Buncombe, Weaverville, North Carolina)
• May 17: P Keagan Rothrock (Roncalli, Indianapolis, Indiana)
• May 10: SS Teagan Thrunk (Point Pleasant Boro, Point Pleasant, New Jersey)
• May 3: SS Abby Hornberger (Regina, Warren, Michigan)
• Apr. 26: OF Cassidy McLellan (Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton, Florida)
• Apr. 19: P/UT Madison Knight (Patterson Mill, Bel Air, Maryland)
• 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)