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This is Brentt Eads of Extra Inning Softball.
There are times when we, as a softball family and community, have the opportunity to help our own and this is one of them.
Last weekend, the Mike Linton family from Tennessee lost most everything possessions-wise due to a house fire and the subsequent smoke and water damage.
Mike’s family of five includes 2025 Extra Elite 100 pitcher/infielder Addisyn Linton, who we’ve covered several times over the last few years (scroll down below to see the original spotlight article we did introducing her).
Addi was also an Extra Inning Softball 1st Team All-American (Pitcher) this year after a tremendous freshman campaign… here’s what we wrote about her three months ago:
Fr. Addisyn Linton, Eagleville TN
As a freshman, Addisyn—who also goes by “Addi”—took her team to the state championship and, in her school’s over 100 years of history, it was the first state title ever. Ranked #2 overall in the 2025 Extra Elite 100, the tremendous athlete went 30 straight innings in the post-season this year without giving up an earned run including one no-hitter. Addi was tabbed as a 1st Team All-State and All-Region pick and was the Tennessee Pitcher of the Year after the championship run and her recording 226 K’s in 130 innings while also batting .523 and slugging eight home runs.
Currently, Addi plays on Virginia Unity led by Coaches Jay Ross and Josh Johnson, who posted the following on Twitter yesterday:
Please considering donating! https://t.co/2hppYrCh0Z
— Josh Johnson (@UnityCoachJosh) October 14, 2022
Additionally, here’s what the GoFundMe organizer, Blenna Hoenig, wrote:
This fundraiser is for the Eagleville students Addi, Kam and Slade Linton who lost everything when a fire struck their fathers Mike Linton home on October 8, 2022. No was hurt but everything is a total loss. I am requesting monetary donations only because the Linton’s have no place to store donated goods. Any amount of money would be appreciated.
As of Friday morning, about 25% of the $10,000 goal had been raised but there’s a ways to go to help this softball family out and we hope anyone in a position to contribute will consider doing so.
*** To make a donation to the Linton family, Click HERE to go to the GoFundMe page ***
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2025 Extra Elite 100 Pitcher/Infielder Addisyn Linton: A “Rocky” Beginning, a Championship Future
Originally published June 28, 2020 on Extra Inning Softball
Addisyn Linton, known to most as “Addi,” is only 13-years-old, but it seems like she’s been known in the softball world for longer than that.
When she was the ripe old age of 9, Addi was playing up at 14U and through her connections with Bret Denio, who runs the Explosion program out of California, she even got to play at the 18U level and held her own against elite competition in Boulder tournaments.
“Addi’s passion for the game at such a young age is unmatched,” begins Coach Denio. “She was an instant hit with all my players and they accepted her immediately. She was our batgirl/outfielder and even batted against several elite 18U teams in Boulder pool play. I can’t wait to watch her play in college. It was her dream and I can guarantee you it will come through. That’s Addi!”
As one of the most talented players in her class and a Top 5 honoree in the 2025 Extra Elite 100, Addi’s already experienced a career’s worth of success including her earning All-PGF Tournament honors in 2019 when she recorded a 0.05 ERA and had 22 strikeouts in 22 innings.
As we researched the 2025 class, the young pitcher/hitter’s name came up repeatedly—almost unanimously—as one of the top performers at her age per elite club coaches. Said one from the East Coast, “This kid completely dominates a game. She’s the best pitcher we’ve seen in the class and has an elite work ethic and she really swings the bat well.”
Though not tall in stature (yet), Addi is well-known as a lefty pitcher who is dominant in the circle and at the plate, according to her club coach, Jay Ross of Mojo 2024.
“She has a cannon for an arm as a lefty hurler that cruises in the low 60’s and has hit 66 mph in a game. Addi has a tremendous work ethic and is always looking to improve, spending hours in the gym and on the field working towards her goal of becoming a collegiate student-athlete.”
“When she is in the circle,” adds Coach Ross, “collegiate coaches crowd the fences while watching her command the field. She gains attention everywhere she goes and she even led our team last year with a .620 on-base percentage.”
The incoming 8th grader is passionate about her sport and perfecting her craft. Her father, Mike Linton, has all but dedicated his life to seeing that his children get the most of their abilities in sports or whatever they do.
But it hasn’t been easy.
“Addi comes from a different background than most because we’ve never had the resources—being from a small town in Kansas—that didn’t have softball,” the athlete’s father begins. “We’ve never had the facilities, we are like Rocky Balboa in “Rocky 4” going against the Russian (Ivan Drago) who had the facility, top trainers, and money.”
“We would have to train like Rocky did, inventing work outside and using outside areas like you wouldn’t believe.”
At one time, while in Colorado, Addi and her father found a creative way to get some pitching work in despite the brutal winter weather.
“We used an underground gutter and would pitch where homeless people and others less fortunate would be to get out of the cold and snow. We would get quite the crowd, but Addi loved pitching in front of them because she would say it takes their mind to a different time or situation.”
With a bright future ahead of her, Addi’s dedication to her sport is intense, but there’s one passion that burns stronger than her love of fastpitch: her family.
The softball star is the middle of five kids sandwiched between her older sister Jacquelyn (18-years-old) and brother Jensen (17) and ahead of younger sister Kambrie (9) and brother Slade (8).
It’s definitely a family of impressive achievements: the eldest, Jacquelyn, is looking to go to med school; Jensen is a college basketball prospect, Kambrie is a “feisty little athlete,” according to her father, who will play basketball and softball while the youngest, Slade, is a national wrestling champ and ranked #1 in Tennessee at the 65-pound weight class.
Going into the 8th grade this fall, Addi has also set her goals very high, including winning club and school championships and one individual accomplishment that would be a first.
“I would love to win the Gatorade State Player of the Year as an eighth grader,” she says optimistically, “because that’s something that’s never been done before.”
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Name: ADDISYN LINTON
Hometown/State: Eagleville, Tennessee
Grad Year: 2025
Positions: Pitcher/Outfield
Club Team: Tennessee Mojo 2024 – Ross
School (City/ST): Eagleville Middle/High School
GPA: 4.0
Top Softball & Other Honors/Accomplishments: 2017 PGF Champion, World Fastpitch Champions 2019 Kansas City
Nickname: Addi, Lil Baby Goat, A-Train
Preferred College Major: Anesthesiologist
Camps Attended: none
What have you been doing to keep busy during the COVID-19 shutdown?
Honestly during this time is probably the first time in five years when I just put the ball down and focused more on myself, being more physically fit and mentally ready. I want to get myself ready to compete at the highest level and I want to win. I don’t know what everyone else is doing; I hope they’re sitting on the couch on vacation because I’m using this time to get stronger and work on my weaknesses! Everything is shut down so you have to get creative and find ways to do things you can benefit from and make sure you’re ready when my coaches say we are playing.
Looks like we’re getting back onto the fields, fingers crossed, and June will continue to be a return to softball… your thoughts? Where are you scheduled to be this summer?
I can’t wait! I actually got to play recently in a Mojo friendly to where we played other Mojo teams and I freaking loved it! The Mojo organization has studs and some of the best teams in the country and best players in the country and I definitely loved being back on the field playing against the best. I don’t know our schedule but I know my coaches will find the best tournaments with the best competition to make us better.
We played some in Florida this weekend, only four pool games and no bracket ones because it got rained out. I’m pumped we are going right in playing the best and getting better. You have no choice or you will get beat badly so you have to compete every pitch. I’m so happy we don’t have to wear those masks either. I see some teams wearing those. I always want to play the big Nationals tournaments so I hope we get to. Those babies are special, you find out if you have what it takes.
What’s been your most memorable softball experience?
Well, I love winning big tournaments always when it’s stacked like Nationals. Softball has also allowed me to travel the country and see different areas of the country and meet amazing people. I also remember my first perfect game. One that truly I still think about is when I was 9 years old; I actually got to play in one of the biggest tournaments in the country in Colorado with every D1 coach watching. I was 9 playing with 14U and I played 18U with Explosion from California. Thank you, Coach Bret Denio! I love that guy. I remember seeing all the big D1 schools watching me. I actually played well and hit off of committed pitchers. God helped me that day, he knows my dreams and knows who was watching. I get goosebumps. You, Mr. Eads, actually interviewed me, that was so cool!
Talk about your performance last year at PGF Nationals… did you feel you were in a zone or playing in a way you couldn’t be stopped?
I’m still mad about PGF! I know my team is the best team in the country and I know we didn’t do our job. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a zone yet. I think being in a zone is where everything is working and sometimes I may have one or two things working and that’s good enough but it’s not that special zone. I’ve dominated at times but I know I can be better at where everything is working and, if so, I will be in a zone. It will be amazing when I have it all put together. I think the same way with my bat. I love to swing the bat to and help my team score runs. I want to win the three Nationals in the same year and the state championship for my school.
Everyone seems to know about you and thinks you’re a Top 10 player in your class… How do you think you’ve become so well-known so young?
I have some special people in my life because of softball and who they are in the sport that has always supported me and encouraged me to believe and chase my dreams. Those people have big voices for the sport and I love them and they love me. Everyone knows I work hard and knows my passion for the game. I think people love that and respect that about me. I want to inspire and motivate. I think social media has allowed the country to get to know me also and playing with the Mojo people know you if you play for a team like that.
A lot of coaches and scouts we’ve talked to rave about your competitiveness… where do you think that fire and drive comes from?
At my very first pitching lesson—before I ever even threw a pitch—it was me and my dad. Driving on our way there my dad tells me that he wants me to be the best pitcher in the building. He didn’t care who was there, he wanted me to be the best! So, from that day it set the tone of how my mentality was going to be. I still think that way and every time we go somewhere or play at a tournament my dad say, “Be the best player on the field.” My dad always told me and still says today, “There is no excuse as to why you can’t be the best; no matter if girls are a lot older or already committed to college. The ball doesn’t have a brain and has no idea who has it in their hand.”
Can it be too much sometimes, do you think? Are there times where, for example, losing is so much harder to take than the joy that comes from winning?
In 2019, we lost PGF Nationals. Losing like we did was the worst lost ever to me. We were the favorite going in, but some things didn’t go our way and we lost a lot sooner than expected. I sat in the dugout and cried and cried. Until, the lights were about to shut off at the park. The other team coach and parents actually came over to see me in the dugout by myself because I was taking it pretty hard. They told me some very positive and encouraging things. Then my dad took me to centerfield and the lights went off and I was still very emotional. My dad wanted me to feel that pain and it hurt and it still hurts. But losing is what makes you better and more motivated to not want to lose again. Losing will build you or break you. Nobody is undefeated in life. There is no better feeling than winning and there is no worse feeling than losing and that is what makes the special players special. That’s the 1 percent.
How would you evaluate yourself? What are your strengths on the field in addition to that competitiveness?
I would say if I was to evaluate myself that I still have so much more room to be better! I like that because it tells me if I continue to work hard, I’m going to get better and I want to be the best in the country. I think I have the right mentality and work ethic. I just have to keep building until it all comes together and I get excited about that. I believe my strengths on the field I can help my team win either with my bat or in the circle and I play the game to win. I will give everything I have. It’s like a fight, the other team gives us their best shot and I give them mine and what I contribute to the fight I know my teammates have my back. I hope it helps my team win the fight.
Have you set personal goals for yourself for this year? Or in general?
Yes, here is a few goals I set for the 2021 season:
- I want to hit 68 mph in a game and throw consistently 64-66 mph
- I want to throw my change-up on a full count base loaded situation and have it anytime. It’s dirty when I have it!
- Exit speed off a bat: 80 mph
- I want to bat .600-plus with 10 home runs!
- Win three national title with my team
- Take my high school team to its first state championship as an 8th grader. I can play high school ball. My school has never been to state or won a state title and I really want to make that happen!
- Squat 300 pounds
I always want to stay healthy so I don’t ever have to slow down so I can get better.
What makes you unique off the field and why?
I’m not sure I think we are all unique in our own ways. Maybe my leadership and what I choose to do off the field to make me better on the field. Sometimes I don’t do a lot of the things my friends do but I know my friends don’t or maybe never will get a chance to do what I get to do because of my love of softball. I knew what I wanted to play D1 softball when I was 6.
You’re a lefty… do you do all things left-handed?
I’m actually right side dominate in many things. When I first started playing in coach pitch for the Wichita Fusion I was a righty and I wasn’t hitting very good so my dad said we going to hit from the left side and work on small ball and when I said I wanted to be pitcher we started throwing left handed because lefties are the best and there isn’t to many lefty pitchers and the best ones than was lefties: Monica Abbott, Cat Osterman, Cheridan Hawkins. So I really don’t know if I was born a lefty or not (laughs)! I’m the only lefty in my whole family. I dribble the basketball right-handed and I jump off my right foot better. I cut my steak with my right hand. Lefties are the best!
What would be more exciting for you… pitching a perfect game or winning a game with a grand slam?
It all depends on what was on the line and situation. Definitely I would love to throw a perfect game in the rival game or championship game. That would be insane. But if i could win a game with a grand slam dinger and meet my teammates and coaches at home plate then I would love that too.
Do you have any softball superstitions?
I step over the chalk lines and wear eye black. I gotta have it. If i lose and ‘Im wearing a undershirt I will not wear undershirt next game no matter how cold it may be
If you had to describe yourself in one word, what would it be on-field? Off the
field.
Determined!
What’s been your favorite vacation or place you’ve visited?
Bahamas.
What’s the biggest obstacle you’ve had to overcome in life?
My life is softball and I’m still young so I haven’t had to go through any real life obstacles yet and I’ve never had an injury. I will share obstacles I believe I’ve faced though. I believe this game has really taught me how to stay in-tune to myself. Athletes are put under a microscope and many people are quick to judge whether it’s to praise or to put down in a negative way.
This game has helped me overcome disbelief. You wouldn’t believe the things I’ve heard over the last seven years from people in the stands, from certain coaches, from players, and even people on social media. To be honest there were times I started to believe in the disbelief that what I was hearing could be true because those are the times that I was struggling. Then I started to learn and realize that we all go through struggles, that’s part of the growth. Always remember process over results.You must continue to believe in yourself and never let that be taken away from you. Your belief in yourself is the most powerful tool there is. That’s all you need to achieve whatever it is in life. Softball has given me that because what I give to the game gives something so special back to me and honestly I feel I can conquer any obstacle that’s put in front of me and continue to change the ones that said “I couldn’t” to “She’s doing it!” Thank you softball for giving me the confidence and belief in myself to know it doesn’t matter what you hear it only matters what I do and what I believe! I love this game!
What makes you happiest in life, along with softball?
My family, whom I love very much
You could have dinner with four people, living or dead… who would you choose and why?
God… it would be so amazing to having dinner with God! Amanda Scarborough… since I was 6, she’s always had my back and has encouraged me to be who I am. “Be Addi, no one else,” she said. “And have hope and faith.” My future college coach… I would love to ask her/him and know what he expects of me and what I would need to improve on now to get recruited. That would be so awesome. And my dad. He is my best friend.
You’re very close to your dad, Mike Linton… how did that relationship grow and what does he mean to you?
My dad is an amazing person. It’s always been me and my dad! Our bond that we have is one that many don’t understand and is unbreakable. He is the most dedicated and committed person I know, His work ethic in life is unmatched and everyone that knows him would say the same. What my dad gives me and my brothers and sisters makes him the best; his passion in life is helping me chase my dreams. I wouldn’t even know where to start to explain how much he and all he has done with sacrifices and obstacles put in front of him. He always finds a way, he does not take a day off of being a dad or my coach and it’s because of him that I have my strengths and it’s because of him that my weaknesses will become my strengths. Many people don’t understand my dad but I do. He is more than a dad to me. He pushes me to go get it and it motivates me because I don’t want to let him down and if I don’t let him down, I won’t let myself down because we know “our why.”
Finally, what’s one thing or accomplish about you that is unusual or unique about you that few know?
I think what’s unique about me is the drive I have, to show you don’t have limitations unless you set limits on yourself. One thing that drives me is people saying that I can’t do something or the people that doubt me because I’m not your typical size of what a high-level pitcher is expected to be. That goes with everything. I just don’t see myself as a pitcher. I’m a softball player that can play multiple positions.
EXTRA INSIGHTS:
What’s Your Favorite Softball Item (like preferred bat, glove, etc.)? My glove (A2000) and my bat (Duo Ghost)
Favorite item in your closet: My Air 270 white tennis shoes
What is one thing that really makes you laugh? My siblings.
Best way to unwind is… going for a run/lift weights/or hit.
If you have a day to shop and $1,000 to spend, where do you go? I would go to the Buckle to get some jeans and shirts and then I would go to the Nike outlet and buy some athletic clothes so I can have a combination.
What’s playing in your headphones right now? Old Dominion’s Snapback
Celebrity you’d like most to hang out with… Rebel Wilson. She’s funny
Favorite motto/phrase: “You only live once but if you live it right, once is enough.”
Favorite college uniform: Oregon Ducks
Calories aside, what food could you eat and never get sick of? Orange Chicken (Panda Express)
If you could choose someone to play you in a movie of your life, who would you pick and why?
I would have to say my little sister Kambrie . The reason I would choose her is because she looks up to me a lot. She is like my little twin, she loves to do everything I do. Her personality is the best and Kam always tells me she wants to be just like me when she grows up and I feel like she would be the best fit to play me in a movie about me. She is the best!