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We are scouring the Internet and Social Media and keeping our ears to the street for the latest going on in the softball community.
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Here’s our TLI for Wednesday, April 27:
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EXTRA SPOTLIGHT: RYLEIGH SMITH
2025 C/UT Ryleigh Smith recently talked to Extra Inning Softball about playing for Delaware Tribe 14U-Scurchi, Decatur High, MD, playing for the USA HPP, qualifying for AFCS 2, Bailey Hemphill, bowling and Little League.
EXTRA SPOTLIGHT Q&A
Name: Ryleigh Smith
Hometown: Bishopville, MD (recognized as Ocean City, MD)
High School: Stephen Decatur High
Club Team: Delaware Tribe 14U-Scurci
Graduation Year: 2025
Height: 5-foot-4
Position: C/UT
Nickname: Ry or RyRy
Twitter: @RyleighSmith22
Honors: USA Softball HPP 2022 National Selection Event Invitational; Vizual Edge Pilot Program — Most Improved; USA Softball HPP 2021 Region 2 (MD-DC-DE); and National Junior Honor Society.
Travel Ball Fall Stats: .457 AVG, 21 hits, 46 ABs, 6 doubles, a triple,, one grand slam and threw out 31 percent (8 of 26).
High School Ball Highlights/Stats: Hit .452 AVG with 14 hits in 31 ABs, 17 RBIs, 1 double, 5 HRs, threw out 50 percent (1 of 2) and Daily Times Player of the Week (April 7, 2022).
Tell us about the Tribe and how you became involved with them?
I joined Delaware Tribe in 2018. At the time, I was looking for more time behind the plate. Not only was the team looking for a catcher, but a couple of the girls joining the team were daycare classmates. Currently our organization has four teams (18U, 16U, 14U and 10U). We’re not a nationally-known organization, but we’ve got a lot of talent and our coaches are dedicated to helping us get more exposure. Having joined Alliance Northeast Fastpitch League last year, we were excited to punch our ticket in September to compete in the AFCS in August 2022.
Can you talk about your experiences at Decatur High and how you’ve done there?
Most of my Tribe teammates played school ball in middle school. However, for the few of us who live across the stateline in Maryland, middle school sports do not exist. So it feels like I’ve been waiting years to finally play school ball. As a freshman, I’m the starting catcher for our varsity squad. We have several great pitchers and a great lineup, so it’s been a very exciting season and everything I could have hoped for. Personally, I’ve had an amazing season so far, collecting 5 home runs. In fact, the first hit of my high school career was a grand slam. It just doesn’t get any sweeter than that! We’ve got great coaches who have really focused on putting all the pieces together to ensure we are growing stronger with each game. We currently have an 8-1 record. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for our talented team.
What can you tell us about USA Softball HPP?
Like many other aspects of our lives, COVID was no stranger to the 2021 HPP program. Last spring, I competed in the local qualifier and was selected for MD-DC-DE Region 2. We had four scheduled practices throughout the summer and were anticipating playing against other regions.
COVID seemed to change those plans. Fast forward to 2022, I attended the Maryland HPP Qualifier.
A month later, I received the invite to attend the National Selection Event in November 2022 in Mesquite, Texas. One great aspect this year was being scored/evaluated by Team USA players. I’m truly honored to have earned the invite and excited to attend the national event. I love the opportunities that the program gives to young players with the ultimate goal of being selected for the National Team.
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