It’s been a pretty darn good summer for Ava Laurent, a senior pitcher at Grand Island (Neb.) Northwest High, who led her Vikings team to the Nebraska High School Class B softball state title earlier this month.
In the tourney playoffs, the 5-foot-10 senior was dominating as she went 4-0 with 39 K’s in 26 innings and a 1.43 ERA. Ava also helped her cause with her bat as she had a home run, double and four RBIs as Northwest topped Elkhorn 3-1 in the championship game.
She also knows where her future will take her on the softball fields as Ava is headed to Pittsburg State, a DII school in Pittsburg, Kansas, that competes in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Conference and has one of the most fun, certainly different, nicknames in all of college sports: the Gorillas!
The senior leaves the Vikings program as the top pitcher in school history, with program bests with 73 wins, 833 strikeouts and 27 shutouts and capped her prep campaign with a 1.00 ERA this year.
She’s not only impressed between the lines, she’s gotten it done in the classroom, too.
One of her high school teachers, Scott Johnson, describes Ava as “a terrific student, but more importantly an awesome person! She has a top-notch work ethic and turns in high quality work as Ava cares about her academics and athletics as well as the person she is. I just can’t say enough good things about her!”
Extra Inning correspondent Joy Roeder recently caught up with the state champion pitcher to find more about the athlete’s past, present and future…
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Extra Inning Softball: What or who influenced you to play softball?
Ava Laurent: My parents. They signed me up for the city league t ball at a young age, soon realized that I was blessed with some talent and then got me on the local traveling team. Through all the years, they pushed me to be my best and give my best effort.
EIS: What organization have you played for through the years?
AL: At the age of 6, I started out on the city league T ball team, played there till I was 8. At 8 years old, I joined the Stingers Organization, a travel ball team out of Grand Island. I played with the Stingers until 16U. During my final year with the Stingers, I was asked to guest play for a national team out of Colorado. I now have been playing with Prodigy Nationals out of Colorado for two years.
EIS: At what age did you realize you might be able to play at the collegiate level?
AL: I always dreamed of playing college ball as a little girl. My second year of 14U I started to realize that if I continued to work hard, playing softball in college could really be an option.
EIS: Was there ever a time you thought about not playing? If so what made you keep playing?
AL: I have never truly thought about quitting softball. There were many times that I thought about giving up because I was tired and wanted some of my summers back. I quickly realized that I may not have my summers at home, but I was getting the opportunity to travel the world while making friendships that will last a lifetime. It has been a long road to get to where I am at today, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.
EIS: What are some of the things ball players sacrifice to be able to compete on a national club level?
AL: Some of things that girls like myself have to sacrifice while playing on a national club team is not having much of a social life, sometimes your academics, holidays, worship, etc. While playing on a national team, I don’t have much of a summer. I miss out on many of the activities that some of my friends are doing. Throughout the school year when I have to miss school for a tournament, it is hard to sometimes make up what I have missed. Over the years, I have missed many family events. Like holidays, graduations and gatherings. Since most tournaments go through the weekend, I often miss Sunday worship with my family at our church.
EIS: What sacrifices have your family members made in order for you to play competitive national level club softball?
AL: Some of the biggest sacrifices that my parents have made is time and money. Traveling all over the place, driving and flying, takes a lot of time and adds up to be very expensive. My brother has grown up watching me play softball, he sacrifices a lot of his time to be in a car traveling to watch me play.
EIS: Was there ever a time you thought you might not play anymore?
AL: There has not ever been a time that I thought I wasn’t going to be able to play anymore.
EIS: What led to your decision to commit to Pitt State?
AL: When I went on my first visit, I fell in love with everything. The whole school, the coaches, softball program, facilities and so much more. The recruitment process was one of the most stressful times of my life but after leaving from my first visit at Pitt I knew that’s where God was calling me to be.
EIS: What advice would you give your younger self or young ball players who have dreams of playing in college?
AL: Some advice that I would give to my younger self and or the younger ball players is to never give up. Its going to get hard but its all worth it in the end. If you have a dream of playing in college, then reach those goals and do it. No matter the level of college play, it all shows how hard you have worked over the years.
EIS: Who is your favorite pro and/or collegiate player?
AL: One of my favorite past players is Amanda Scarborough. I follow her on social media and like to look at the drills that she does with her pitchers that she coaches. Some of them I do when I am practicing and many of the others I like to teach to my girls that I do lessons with.
EIS: What is your favorite non softball activity?
AL: One of my favorite activities outside of softball is fishing with my Grandpa.
EIS: Who are your role models or people you look up to? How have they influenced your journey?
AL: Two of my biggest role models are my Grandpa and Mom. My Grandpa is the most hardworking man I have ever seen and he is also my biggest supporter. If he isn’t sitting in the stands watching, he’s yelling at Grandma to pull the game up on her phone or iPad! My Mom has been thrown many curveballs through life, but the way that she handles all of those different things is what has influenced me the most.
EIS: What do you want to study in college?
AL: In college, I plan on studying Occupational Therapy.
EIS: What would be your dream job?
AL: My dream job is to pursue the career of Occupational Therapy while working in a Children’s Hospital.
EIS: What do you want to be remembered for when your softball career is done?
AL: I want to be remembered for always be a good teammate. This last summer I had the pleasure of working with 10 different girls, giving them pitching lessons. Once school started, I put together a pitching clinic and worked with 25 girls. I want to also be remembered as someone that all these younger girls could look up too.
