RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
It’s been a great last month for 2022 grad Kaysen Korth who helped pitch her Riverton (Utah) High team to a second straight title and she was also named to the PGF All-American Game next month and was named as the Gatorade State Player of the Year.
But it didn’t come easily for Kaysen, who had to creative when she got a blister on her pitching hand and super glued it shut every inning on May 27, 2022 to keep going in the state-clinching game.
We’ll let the Weber State signee explain what happened…
“The seams started cutting my finger from throwing a lot of riseballs during the state tournament,” Kaysen begins.
“Then on the first game of the championship series it started to feel like a bruise and about an hour after the game I had a giant blood blister. We tried to drain it before the next game, but it wouldn’t. After the first inning it just popped and bled for quite a while.”
Ouch… but there is good news.
“It’s healing really well and there is only a little divot left,” the pitcher adds like it was no big deal.
Riverton High Head Coach Katelyn Elliott says the experience was crazy, but with the playoffs and a state title on the line, the senior wasn’t going to be denied.
“Kaysen’s super glued finger was insane!” begins the coach. “We didn’t have issues with this all year long so, of course, it had to happen right during the state tournament. I wanted to put my player’s health first and foremost, but I was never going to take my senior pitcher’s state championship game away from her either.”
“She has wanted this game for so long and she has come so far to get to where she was at in that moment. We would super glue her finger in between innings but the super glue didn’t last long and then she was pitching on pure grit and determination. Kaysen seemed unphased as if she had a hangnail, but it was a lot more than that. I could tell by the look in her eye there was no way she was coming out of the game. She wasn’t going to let anything get in her way of that championship game.”
That championship game was a 11-1 run-rule victory over West to give the Silverwolves a two-game series sweep and, most important, a second straight season of walking off the fields as the Class 6A state champs.
Blister aside, Kaysen was all but unstoppable in the Utah playoffs, as she pitched two perfect games and four shutout wins. In 33 innings, she didn’t give up an earned run while striking out 56 opponents. She also helped her own cause by batting .625 with two home runs—one a grand slam—and had 13 RBIs.
For her senior, the pitcher/third baseman went 24-1 with a 0.55 ERA and 15 shutouts with an amazing 274 strikeouts in 140.1 innings pitched. At the plate, Kaysen batted .549 with seven home runs and 45 RBIs.
Not surprisingly, she was named for the second straight season as the Utah 6A playoff MVP and as Coach Elliot commented in the Gatorade State Player of the Year press release:
“Kaysen has the entire player package. She is the heart of our offensive lineup, a force on the mound, a defensive weapon, a fast and aggressive base-runner and a valuable team leader.”
For the senior leader, perhaps the most fulfilling moment of the season came after the final championship game was in the books and she and her team returned home.
“We made a check list on a white board in our dugout that had our two goals on it,” Kaysen remembers of what she and her Silverwolves teammates set out to accomplish.
“The two goals were winning Region and taking State,” she continues. “Underneath that goal was our team motto: ‘One Pack.’ Around the goals, we had a bunch of attitudes and things we called our ‘controllables’ such as ‘effort,’ ‘intensity,’ and ‘execution.’”
“My favorite memory was coming home from winning the state championship and being able to check off our final goal. It was really a full circle moment and allowed my team and I to reflect on the amazing year we had.”
Kaysen would be the first to say that she didn’t win the title(s) alone.
Senior Chloe Woods, an outfielder/first baseman who will play at Salt Lake Community College next year, hit the game-winning hit—a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the sixth inning, to give Riverton High this year’s title via the 10-run rule, and junior shortstop Jolie Mayfield, who batted .762 with three home runs and 15 RBIs in the 6A State Tourney, had an impressive 19 home runs and 65 RBIs in 27 games played this year.
Senior catcher Mariyah Delgado was also key to Riverton’s second straight title and will be headed to Weber State also to continue receiving Kaysen’s pitches.
“Weber (State) already has a strong program,” adds Coach Elliot, “but they are going to really excel with Kaysen and Mariyah as their battery. Mariyah does a lot that goes unnoticed, but she calls the games for Kaysen and they work so good together it’s fun to watch.”
Coach Elliot says she will always remember Kaysen and the team for how they presented themselves, on and off the field.
“Kaysen is a dominating pitcher physically and mentally,” Riveron’s head coach explains. “Pitching is not an easy position, hitters capitalize on every little mistake and perfection is impossible. It makes the position mentally difficult and challenging and Kaysen embraces the challenge and uses it to better herself.”
“Coaching this team was every coach’s dream; they are not only phenomenal athletes on the field they are down to earth, good people off the field as well. Every athlete on our team is academically successful as well as athletically talented. They know how to get work done and have fun doing it. Practice never felt like a job, it felt like an opportunity to get better every single day and that is because of them.”
This weekend, Kaysen is with her club team, Utah Fastpitch Club – Korth coached by her mother, Teisha Korth, at the Top Gun Invitational in Shawnee, Kansas and will play at the end of this month in the TCS Fireworks Power Pool in Denver and PGF Nationals from July 22-30 in Huntington Beach, Calif.
She has a fun summer ahead of her and then it’s off to college, but she’ll always have the state-title seasons to savor including one that needed a little bit of Super Glue to get the job done.
And from what the pitcher told us today, “the finger is healing up nicely.”
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
*****
More with Kaysen Korth… our Extra Inning Softball Spotlight Q&A
What do you throw that gets so many strikeouts? Heat? Spin? Mix of things?
I throw curve, screw, change, rise and am working on my drop to get it more consistent. My range in speed is fast is mid to low 60’s to low 50’s on my change up.
Have you always been dominant or are you more of a late bloomer?
I started pitching at 10 and I was told if I wanted to be a good pitcher I would need to practice six days a week. I love being on the mound and controlling the game and have worked hard to get where I am today.
During the first few years, I would try and pitch every day either to my dad, mom, a catcher or just outside into a net. I would say I have always done pretty well and helped my team compete. I have always played up with my teams in tournaments. Around Utah, it was not uncommon to see us as a 14U team playing in an 18U tournament. My coach always said we needed to be ready to compete as freshman against seniors and now I’m trying to get myself ready to do the same in college.
Do you, or have you, played other sports?
When I was quite young, I tried soccer, basketball and volleyball, but as I became more competitive, I really wanted to focus on softball. Pitching four-to-six days a week and having hitting lessons during the week didn’t leave much time for other extracurricular activities, but I still enjoy playing Jr. Jazz basketball in the winter.
Do you come from a family of athletes?
My family is my support system. I have four older brothers—Kayler (25 years old), Kaige (24), Kwinn (21) and Kannon (20)—so growing up I was always a little picked on in a good way!
I think growing up with brothers automatically makes you more competitive. I always wanted to win and they never babied me or let me win. They are all amazing and now spoil me, especially with food if I beg them enough!
My Grandma and Grandpa Timothy are very supportive; they have always given me rides to games or lessons if I needed one. They will also come to almost all of my tournaments even if they have to drive 10-plus hours.
My dad, Kourtney, has been my catcher up until last year, he had to retire when it started hurting his hand too much to catch my pitches. He also struggled seeing the ball: his old man eyes got to him (laughs)! He is so supportive and always has my back. Even when I don’t play my best, he just jokes around with me, until I’m not upset anymore.
My mom has been my coach since I was just starting and she has always pushed me to be the best I can. She pays for lessons, drives me anywhere for practices or games, and has spent countless hours with me on the softball field. I am where I am today because of her.
Each summer our family vacations are spent where I’m playing ball. I’ve tried to not take anything for granted. Knowing the sacrifice and support of my family is what makes me grind and has taught me to be tough on the mound. There haven’t been many times in my career, this far, that I’ve been taken off the mound.
Is there anything unusual or different about you that most people don’t know?
I’ve broke two bones playing, a finger and thumb, both were from diving back to bases. I enjoy pickleball, ping pong, and spike-ball.
How would you describe your personality? Are you quiet? A jokester? Studious? Life of the party?
I can be all of the above just depending on the situation I am in and my surroundings. I am usually quiet at school or if I don’t know the people around me. I Joke around with teammates, friends and family. I love having a good time with friends and making sure everyone is happy.
What is next for you?
Well, I have a busy summer with softball. I just got back from Zoom into June. It was great playing competitive ball and being back with my travel ball team. We are headed to Colorado to play in the Fireworks in a week and then PGF Nationals in California. We are so happy to be traveling this year to see good teams. It was tough with Covid last year. Just seeing college coaches out last week was awesome. I have an amazing travel ball team.
What would you say you’ve worked on over the last year that’s helped elevate your game?
This past season in high school we talked about only focusing on on pitch at a time. This helped keep me in the moment during state. I was also given a book to read called “Heads-up Baseball, Playing the Game One Pitch at a Time.” I actually sat on the bus on the way to the state championship game and read through a few passages… this helped keep me mentally focused. Also, a motto from Coach Cyndee Bennett, the coach at Salt Lake Community College ,I like to use is: “Be one percent better than yesterday.”