Week 12 of our 2023 National High School Player of the Week series for the Spring fastpitch season takes us coast to coast with some amazing performances in all areas of the game.
Each week 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, April 23, 2023, through Saturday, April 29, 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!
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Extra Inning Softball’s National High School Player of the Week
* Kaitlyn Pallozzi has emerged as one of the top pitchers in the country and the 2025 grad and right-hander for Mercy High in Farmington Hills, Mich., showed why last week.
After helping lead her team to the state playoffs as a freshman, the 6-foot hurler—who has been clocked in the mid-to-upper 60’s with a devastating riseball and complements it with a well-placed change-up—is determined to not only get to the championship game, but to win it this year.
She’s led the Marlins to a 9-0 start this season and been almost perfect (literally) including last week when Kaitlyn was part of not one, but two perfect games. And she helped her own cause by going 9-for-16 (.563) and smacking two home runs.
In the first perfecto, she recorded 11 K’s in four innings as 22 of her 30 pitches were strikes and she went 5-for-7 with a home run and three RBI’s. In the second contest, she was part of a 15-0 run rule win and was a big part of it offensively as she went 4-for-7 with a home run, double and six RBIs.
In the young season, Kaitlyn has led Mercy to a 5-0 record and has a 0.00 ERA with no runs allowed in 26 innings while striking out 76. Opponents are hitting just .024 against her and for the season she’s allowed just two hits.
Read that again: only two hits in five victories with an average of 2.9 strikeouts per inning! And, oh by the way, she’s also batting .581 with the two home runs and 11 RBIs.
We asked her which aspect of her game right now she’s most proud: her success with her arm or her bat?
“So far this high school season, I’m most proud of my hitting,” Kaitlyn explained. “As a pitcher, I spend the majority of my time working on my pitching skills.”
“As a result, my hitting has been up and down over the past year. I’m confident that my pitching will keep us in the game, so improving my hitting over the last few months was a focus to find another way to help my team win.”
But it’s not like this is anything new: in 2022 Kaitlyn entered the state record book as she had a “perfect perfect” game, meaning she struck out all 21 batters she faced.
She plays travel ball for Mike Wallace and the Firecrackers organization, and her club coach describes his ace pitcher as being someone who is already on the radar of many elite Power 5 programs.
“Kaitlyn is big, tall and strong, with an easy arm action and a fluid body,” Coach Wallace says. “She will certainly add more velocity as she physically matures. Kaitlyn is great to coach as she’s confident and easy-going but is an aggressive competitor.”
Year 2 of her prep career is a continuation of her freshman dominance last year when the Michigan standout went 12-1 with 224 K’s in 90 innings and a 1.08 ERA. She earned All-Region and All-District honors and, in the Fall, continued to impress for her 16U travel ball team as she gave up just four earned runs in 38 innings for a 0.73 ERA and had 78 strikeouts.
Still, Kaitlyn feels she has unfinished business this season and is determined to do her best to lead her team to greater heights.
“I was already motivated coming into my freshman year,” Kaitlyn recalls, “having watched Ava Bradshaw win a state title as a freshman the previous year (note: Ava, a Duke commit, was a 2022 Extra Inning Softball 1st Team High School All-American Pitcher for South Lyon High and ranked #10 in the 2024 Extra Elite 100).”
“In the state quarterfinal game,” Kaitlyn continues, “we had to face nationally-ranked Allen Park and I was honored when my coach chose me to start the game. We were very competitive through the 4th inning but just couldn’t pull it out against a very good Allen Park team.”
Thus, the drive to exceed where her Marlins team finished in 2022.
“Getting that far and hanging in there for most of that game only to come up short has left me even more motivated to finish what we started last season,” the athlete continues. “We have a complete team and I’m very excited for our possibilities this season.”
And, we asked, will the talented 2025 grad look to hit at the next level or will she more focus on her work in the circle?
“As a pitcher, pitching is my primary focus,” Kaitlyn said. “It is fun to hit and everyone loves to hit, and as long as I can continue to perform at a high level, and contribute to my team’s success I would love to continue hitting. However, I will not jeopardize my pitching skills or sacrifice my opportunities as a pitcher to continue hitting.”
Which looks like it will be continued misery for opposing Michigan high school hitters for the next two and a half years as the dominating athlete continues to improve her already accomplished skills in the circle.
— Brentt Eads, Extra Inning Softball
*** 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 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.
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Previous 2023 Extra Inning Softball National High School Players of the Week
- Apr. 25: P Makenzie Freeman P/IF (Hackett, Ark.)
- Apr. 18: P/UT Mallie West (New Waverly, Texas)
- Apr. 11: OF Cassidy McLellan (Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton, Fla.)
- Apr. 4: P/UT Julia Shearer (North Penn, Lansdale, Pa.)
- Mar. 28: SS Ashlynn Campbell (Wetumpka, Ala.)
- 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)
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