Inside Pitch: 2022 Extra Elite 100 Candidate Madison Inscoe… “How Softball’s Taught Us to Endure Challenges”

One of the nation’s top uncommitted prospects in the sophomore class is pitcher/infielder Madison Inscoe, who helped her Nansemond-Suffolk Academy (Suffolk, Virginia) High team win a state title in 2019.

In the shortened 2020 season this spring, she compiled a 0.75 ERA with 14 K’s and one walk while hitting .667 with a home run and four RBIs in the two games the Saints got in before being cancelled because of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Madison was an Extra Inning Softball 1^st Team High School All-American (Multi-Position) honoree in 2019after she went 11-3 with a 0.84 ERA with 109 K’s in 75 innings and threw a pair of perfect games. The then-sophomore also batted .392 with 22 RBIs.

A member of the Birmingham Thunderbolts 04 16U club team, she helped the Bolts finish 3^rd at TC/USA Nationals, 7^th at Colorado Sparkler and 13^th at PGF Nationals.

Madison finished the 2019 club year undefeated as a starter while compiling an impressive 1.15 ERA. She held opposing batters to a .211 batting average and her ERA during PGF Nationals was even better at 0.91 in 23 innings of work.

In her latest blog for Extra Inning Softball, Madison shares her thoughts on what life is like in these uncertain times…

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I wanted to take a minute to write an open letter as I know many of you are probably having the same thoughts as myself: who could have predicted any of this craziness and all the things that have happened to all of us in such a short period of time? It’s really unbelievable.

Who could have imagined that all of us would be away from our friends and our teammates so quickly?  And who could have thought that many of our older friends could miss big events like prom and potentially graduation ceremonies?

I can’t imagine how much college and high school coaches are missing their players and the game right now. I hate that each of our seasons ended so quickly and so unexpected and I feel bad for everyone impacted by COVID-19 and how it has affected our lives in so many ways.

Like you, I miss my team, my teammates and my coaches. Still, with all that is going on, my biggest hope is that we all stay safe and healthy. Like you, I just wish things would return to normal as quickly as possible.

But what if it takes longer than we hope? The adjustments we have had to make are challenging, but now, more than ever, it’s important that we all stay positive, motivated and hopeful.

If nothing else, what has the game of softball—that we all love so much—taught us?

It has taught us to endure challenges. Softball at a minimum, has taught each of us perseverance and how to adjust to changing situations. Now is the time to use the skills this game has given us.

If you are a high schooler like me, you are probably missing your high school team so much right now. I know I do.

I think about how my team was off to an amazing start and how we were hopeful that we might have been repeat as State Champions. I’m sure many of you are experiencing many of the same ups-and-downs as well.

Now I just wish we were all playing. I will miss my high school team’s five seniors. They had no idea that the last time we were on the field together, it was truly the last time. No one could have ever imagined that.

I think about the things they will miss. Since I can change none of this, I have a plan which requires me to be flexible.  My plan is simple, and only includes the things I know I can control.

I plan to remain positive, have faith, have hope and to think more about others. I plan to continue to work safely as often as I can and to continue doing what I love so much.

My mom, who I admire and who is on the front lines of combating this Coronavirus pandemic every day working in a hospital, always says, “Nothing is ever as good as it seems and nothing is ever as bad as it seems.”

I think about this and this helps me.

As an uncommitted junior in a recruiting year, I have a ton of things on my mind, but none of this will control me and I will not be fearful. I have faith and will hold out hope that I will see my teammates and friends again soon and we will have our summer/recruiting season on the softball field.

My hope is that each of you and your families stay safe and in good health during this challenging time.

Here are some clips of Madison pitching in her last high school game this season: