Extra Inning Softball’s National High School Player of the Week—May 31, 2022

Each Tuesday this spring we have honored top high school performances nationwide and will do so for a few more weeks. If you’d like to have a player considered, scroll down to see how to fill out a nomination.

Games are for May 22, 2022 through May 28, 2022…

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

Macee Eaton, the standout junior first baseman and power hitter for Wheelersburg (Ohio) had two regional games last week and went 5-for-6 (a nice .833 batting average) with two walks and seven RBIs… not bad for a week’s worth of work, right?

Well, her five hits were all home runs and her playoff hot streak continues as she has gone 9-for-10 in her last two district and two regional games with eight home runs and 14 RBIs

Not surprisingly, the Virginia commit has been walked intentionally six times and it’s not hard to see why: not only is Macee on a playoff tear, but she leads her team offensively with 19 home runs and now holds the school career homer record with 33 in two years… and she still has her senior year to go.

More importantly, Wheelersburg is ranked #1 in D3 with a 25-1 record as they head into the Final Four State Tournament in Akron this weekend with the first game Friday at 5:30 EST.

Head Coach Teresa Ruby says her slugger’s last couple of weeks isn’t just a case of her getting hot at the right time, with a slugging percentage last week of 3.333 and for the year it being 1.513.

“Macee has been a force for us all season,” explains Coach Ruby.  “She has put in a great deal of hard work in the off season and her performance is the result of all that hard work.  During our tournament run, she has stepped it up to another level.”

It’s not that she wasn’t accomplished before this year—or even the last two weeks. The 2023 grad plays travel ball for the Beverly Bandits – Allen 04 team and led her squad last summer with 14 home runs. As a sophomore in 2021, Macee was the Conference Player of the Year, 1^st Team All-State, 1^st Team All Region and 3^rd Team All-American, the last two by NFCA.

We asked the junior slugger if she’s seeing the ball particularly well and she echoed her coach’s statement that it was the prep time before playoff time that’s been the key.

“Yes, I am seeing the ball very well right now,” Macee told Extra Inning Softball. “I have put in a bunch of work, and I am ready for whatever comes. I just play my game and rely on the work I have put in to this point.  My teammates and I are playing well right now and we just hope we can keep it going.”

Making the playoffs as they did was even that much sweeter for Macee and her Wheelersburg High teammates. The school’s rival is Portsmouth West (Ohio) High who had a 26-2 record prior to their third meeting of the season—and both prior match-ups had been Wheelersburg wins by the scored of 8-6 and 6-3.

In that second game, Macee hit a home run in her first at-bat and then was intentionally walked after that.

Facing off in the Regional Championship game, no one expected Portsmouth West to give the junior hitter anything close but they did… and she made them pay for it.

After a first in her first at-bat, Macee then hit a home run on the first pitch of her second at-bat. In her third time at the plate ,she also homered and finally, in her fourth at-bat, she was thrown three change-ups down in the zone before she reached out and got the third one  in front of the plate to drive it for her third straight home run in the game.

#1 Wheelersburg will compete in the state semi-finals versus #2 Cardington Lincoln High School Friday, June 3^rd at 5:30 pm with the winner playing in the D3 state championship Saturday, June 4th at 7 pm.

If Wheelersburg advacnes to the title game, it will be very interesting to see how the opposing team pitches to her…

— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball

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Runner-Up National Players of the Week

* Anniston Bray, senior lefty slapper for Model High in Richmond, Kentucky, finished her illustrious career setting a state career record for batting average at .750, which previously was set in 2003 with a .709 career mark

Additionally, her .841 on-base percentage leads the country and her 56 steals is the best in the Bluegrass State this year.

Headed to Western Kentucky, she went 8-for-10 this week with a .900 on-base percentage and scored six runs with two doubles in districts and regionals. Nicknamed “Boo,” Anniston is expected to be named All-Region when the honor is announced after making All-District already.

A star off the softball fields as well, Anniston graduated this week as Valedictorian, a Governor’s Scholar grad and Academic All State in four sports(softball, cheer, swim and soccer).

She’ll now turn her attention to the summer ball season and compete for the 18U Fury Platinum X – Higdon team.

* The “Tough Player of the Week” award has to go to Kaysen Korth, the senior pitcher and third baseman for Riverton (Utah) who has signed to play at Weber State University.

Kaysen ended up taking her team to a state championship, but it didn’t come easily (or painlessly), as she had a finger split from throwing so many rise balls this week.

How did she manager the pain and the pitching problem?

Just by using some super glue to close a blister, which popped in the first inning and necessitated the athlete and the team’s training staff seal it frequently (although it would sometimes open during an inning).

For the week, Kaysen had 36 strikeouts in 25 innings with a 0.00 ERA and had four shutouts to help her team win the 6A Utah State Championship. She also batted .583 for the week with eight runs driven in.

Closing out her prep career with a bang, the Utah standout had 274 K’s in 140.1 innings and won 27 games while pitching 15 shutouts, two perfect games and compiling a 0.55 ERA. Kaysen also batted .549 with seven home runs and 45 RBIs on the season to help her team’s cause at the plate.

*** 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

• 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)