Get on board with Extra Inning Softball’s regular feature, The Last Inning!
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 19, 2023:
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EXTRA ELITE SPOTLIGHT: MEGHAN GRAY
Uncommitted C/3B Meghan Gray, #17 in the 2024 Extra Elite 100, recently talked to Extra Inning Softball about EC Bullets-Cornett, Catoctin High, Alliance Nationals, Triple Crown Colorado 4th of July, Virginia Unity-Johnson/Ross, future college, physical therapy, Cal Ripken Jr., playlist, “Grey’s Anatomy” and juggling.
EXTRA ELITE SPOTLIGHT Q&A
Name: Meghan Gray
Hometown: Thurmont, MD
High School: Catoctin High School
Club Team: EC Bullets 16U-Cornett
Graduation Year: 2024
Height: 5-foot-5
Position: C/3B
Nickname: MegTrain/Mookie/Four Sev
Twitter: @meghangrray
Honors: National Honor Society; Spanish Honor Society; Honor Roll every semester of High School; and weighted GPA 4.5.
Travel Ball Highlights/Fall Stats: Batted .463 with 5 home runs, 4 triples, 6 doubles, 16 singles and 25 RBIs and PGF Show Me The Money fall champions.
High School Highlights/Stats: .543 AVG with 8 home runs and 23 RBIs.
Tell us about your travel team/organization and how you became involved with them? I was looking to challenge myself with greater competition and further my opportunities to play in college and I knew this was the team for me.
Tell us about your high school team and how you are doing? We are currently 10-1 and we’re just about finishing up our regular season. I have lots of fun and we all love the game of softball. I specifically like to work on the super small fundamentals of my swing and catching during high school season to make sure I am as good as I can be for travel season. I live in a small town and it’s fun to have people I know be at my games. I also work with the youth in my area and it’s awesome when they come to games!
Can you tell us about your experience at Alliance Nationals last summer? We went to Indiana last year and there we beat Bombers Gold and I made an outstanding play picking off the runner at second in ITB. I also hit a home run about 240 feet, which is the farthest ball I have ever hit.
What tournament/showcase/event are you looking forward to this summer and why? (Triple Crown) Colorado (4th of July) again this year. Last year, my team and I got 3rd place so this year we get to be bumped up into a higher bracket and I’m really looking forward to the competition. Alongside with softball, I absolutely love the scenery in Colorado. I enjoy hiking and being outside so Colorado is a perfect backdrop to that! Red Rocks was my most favorite place to see last year, and I loved Golden too.
Which player/team was your toughest opponent and why? (Virginia) Unity-Johnson/Ross was my toughest opponent. I always had heard of Jayden Heavener but I had never gotten the opportunity to play against her. She has some nasty pitches for sure, but once she got pulled from the game and Lilly Parrish came in that was when the game changed. My whole team wanted the win so bad. It was the top of the 4th and we were down 5-4 and I knew I needed to come up big. With a 3-2 count, I hit a 2-run home run and we ended up winning, 6-5. That game challenged me to be the best player and teammate I could be.
What are you looking for in a future college? I want to be relatively close to home and a coaching staff and players, who love each other as much as the game, and I want to find a family within a team.
What areas are you interested in future occupations and why? Physical therapy/exercise science because I have really enjoyed learning about the human body and how that affects what I do as an athlete. I broke my pinky in 2017 and my physical therapist was so good with me. I want to help people get back to performing at their best level.
Who is your sports hero and why? Being from Maryland and growing up an Orioles fan, I’ve always admired Cal Ripken Jr. He battled through everything and gave his all to the game. I really look up to that kind of grit.
What’s the best hype song and why? As of right now before every softball game, I have a playlist that gets me ready. I don’t really have one in specific, actually.
What’s your favorite TV show to binge and why? “Grey’s Anatomy.” It is full of excitement and it gives me a chance to see what the medical field is like!
Do you have a secret talent/skill? I can juggle, but the story behind being able to juggle is funny. I had a class sophomore year called athletic coaching with the baseball coach for my school. He gave us a 300-point assignment, and the goal was to be able to juggle in a week. Me, being the perfectionist I am, I had to get the 300 points and now I can juggle!
Scroll down to see more highlights including Big Ten and SEC verbals…
