High school softball continues across the country and we honor those athletes who have shined on the field!
Each Tuesday for the next several weeks we’ll continue to 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 May 8, 2022 through May 14, 2022…
*****
Extra Inning Softball’s National High School Player of the Week
* Keagan Rothrock, the outstanding Class of 2023 pitcher/hitter for Roncalli High in Indianapolis, Indiana, is showing no signs of taking it easy as her Top 5-ranked team in the Extra Elite 80 High School Rankings gets ready to head into the upcoming Sectional playoffs.
Last week Keagan, who committed to the Univ. of Florida and Gator Head Coach Tim Walton when she was just a 7th grader, continued to show why she is considered one of the top young pitchers in the game today.
On Monday (May 10), the junior threw a one-hit shutout with 16 strikeouts and came back the next day to throw another one-hit shutout, this time with 17 K’s on Tuesday.
But the All-American junior was just getting warmed up.
On Wednesday, she tossed a perfect game with 20 strikeouts; on Thursday, she didn’t pitch but showcased her impressive batting schools as she hit a grand slam to set the Roncalli High single season home run record at 10 and then returned to the circle on Saturday to throw another perfect game, this one with 19 strikeouts against one of the top-rated teams in the Hoosier State.
To sum it up for the week: a 4-0 record with 72 K’s, only two hits given up and two perfect games as part of four dominating shutouts.
Was she aware she was on the path to perfect not once, but twice last week?
“Our team’s pitching coach knew,” the junior two-way star recalls, “so she made sure that no one said anything about them during the game, but personally I do not realize that it is happening. Usually, I’m super focused on the game itself and not my performance in the moment, so typically I don’t realize that I am throwing a perfect game or anything else of the like.”
For the season, Keagan now has a 0.82 ERA with 19 wins and 264 strikeouts in 111.1 innings pitched, putting her just 38 away from breaking her school’s career strikeout record… and she’s done all this in just two years!
And, for those keeping score this year, she has five perfect games now this season with seven no-hitters and 14 shutouts.
A candidate for National Player of the Year, Keagan’s stats are equally impressive in the batter’s box where she is hitting .542 with 10 homers, eight doubles, two triples and 42 RBIs.
We asked her what she’s prouder of, her pitching or hitting accomplishments in 2022.
“Right now, I’m proud of both of my accomplishments,” she told Extra Inning Softball. “Both the pitching records and hitting records are high and hard to break. I knew it would be difficult and that I would need to work hard to tie and break the records and, because of this, I’m really proud that I’ve been able to do what I’ve done so far this season and last.”
But the individual stats aren’t what Keagan is most focused on—her team is undefeated and trying to win a state title for the second year in a row.
“At this point in the season, the team is playing well, the U.S. Jr. National Team member believes. “ We have amazing team chemistry and we play for each other. I think that if we can continue to play like this and continue to play loose, we will keep playing well.”
*****
Runner-Up National Players of the Week
* Tia Warsop, the junior infielder/outfielder for Lake Ridge High in Mansfield, Texas, continues to show why she’s ranked as the #16 player in the 2023 Extra Elite 100.
The Oklahoma State commit, who was born in England and last year played on the Great Britain U22 and U18 teams, helped lead her team to a win in the Class 6A Regional II quarterfinal series as she went 6-for-8 (.750) with six steals in the two playoff wins.
For the season, Tia—who was the Dallas Morning News Player of the Week earlier this month—is hitting .585 with 50 steals and 59 runs scored. Lake Ridge is 27-6 heading into the semi’s on Thursday.
* Savannah Czornomor, a 2024 shortstop at Passaic County Tech in Wayne, New Jersey, has gone 5-for-10 (.500) in her last three games with a pair of walks and four walks. She’s also impressed on defense as she had 16 put-outs in the 6-hole.
Savanna, who has a 4.3 GPA and is a member of the ROTC program at her school, is currently batting .475 for the Bulldogs and leads her team in home runs, runs scored and RBIs as well.
* Julie Kelley, a 2024 right-handed pitcher for Spruce Creek in Port Orange, Florida, helped her team advance to the Sweet 16 round of Class 6A State playoffs last week with her arm and her bat.
In an extra innings nail biter against district champ Fletcher of Jacksonville, the Hawks fell behind 1-0 in the 1st before Julie and the defense settled. After that inning, Julie struck out 12 the rest of the way to allow her team to tie the game in the 7th inning.
Julie led off the top of the 8th with a single, then advanced to third on a double by senior Kadri Grinstead (Daytona State commit) and scored the winning run on an error at third.
Spruce Creek travels across the Sunshine State to Pace this week for a Regional Semifinal showdown.
On the season, Julie is 15-4 with 192 K’s in 111 innings and has a 1.07 ERA while also batting .368 with 24 RBIs and four home runs.
* For the second time this month, junior pitcher/corner infielder McKenna Guest makes our Honorable Mention National Player of the Week list after the Stephen F. Austin commit helped her Prairiland (Texas) High team get the two-game sweep in the 3A Quarterfinals.
Last Thursday, McKenna pitched a five-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts and helped her own cause by going 2-for-4 at the plate with a pair of doubles and an RBI.
The next day, she threw a complete game win with 15 K’s and, once again, shined with the bat as she went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs.
*** 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 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: info@extrainningsoftball.com.
*****
Extra Inning Softball National High School Players of the Week (Historically)
2022
- 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)
