RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
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.
To contribute information, insights, thoughts or content ideas, email us at [email protected] and also [email protected].
Here’s our TLI for Thursday, May 12, 2022:
*****
EXTRA SPOTLIGHT: OLIVIA MILLER
Ole Miss-committed LHP Olivia Miller, #13 in the 2023 Extra Elite 100, recently talked to Extra Inning Softball about Lady Dukes-Lamar, Bishop Moore Catholic High in Florida, training tips, recruiting and Coach Ryker Chason, Hannah Rogers, Jodi Bayles, cooking and baking and tryouts.
EXTRA SPOTLIGHT Q&A
Name: Olivia Miller
Hometown: Orlando, FL
High School: Bishop Moore Catholic High
Club Team: Lady Dukes-Lamar 2023/2024 18U
Graduation Year: 2023
Height: 5-foot-8
Position: LHP
Nickname: Liv
Twitter: @liviemiller2023
Honors: All State 2021, Team MVP 2021 and Rising Star 2020.
Travel Ball Highlights/Fall Stats: Summer/Fall Stats: nearly 1.7 K’s per inning, 1.18 ERA 1.19 and 7-to-1 strikeout ratio.
High School Highlights: Over 400 Ks in two-plus high school seasons, 1.31 ERA (2022) and batted a team-high .431 (2021).
Tell us about your travel team/organization and how you became involved with them?
I am with the Lady Dukes organization led by Coach James Lamar. My previous travel team broke up and I saw a lot of exciting things on Twitter about Coach Lamar and his organization. I messaged Coach Lamar about an opportunity to play for him. He was very excited, upfront about expectations and what he was looking for. I felt that the Lady Dukes would be a great fit for me, so my mom and I traveled to South Carolina for a tournament with his team.
I have really developed as a player and athlete under Coach Lamar and Coach Pop’s (Robert Young). They push me to the best I can be. The coaching staff (especially Coach Lamar) bring so much energy and excitement with everything we do as an organization. It is so fun to be a part of. I would run through a wall for our coaches. They expect that we train our bodies to withstand our intense summer and fall schedules, provide support and suggestions on development opportunities and challenge us to never be content or satisfied.
The Lady Dukes organization is preparing me well for Ole Miss and I am very thankful and honored to be a part of their organization.
Can you talk about your experience at Bishop Moore High and how you have done there this year?
We’re on our fourth coach in three years, so that has been kind of a challenge. But I love playing for my school. There is just something special about playing for your school. I love my teammates and the memories that we’re creating together. We have had a pretty good year so far. We’re 14-9, we have lost like five one-run games. If we could have had a timely hit here or there, our record would be so much better. We’re playing much better the second half of the season and really looking forward to the state playoffs.
You are a big-time strikeout pitcher, do you have some training methods to help younger players?
Success for me is being able to throw to all four quadrants of the strike zone and the ability to change speeds. The higher you go in softball the more critical it is to effectively change speeds. Not everyone can throw 70 MPH. But if you locate effectively, change speeds and really spin the ball, you can be very successful.
I have really been working on my change-up. The key for me is to trust my grip. I put the ball really deep in my hand and squeeze the heck out of it, then just think arm speed. The arm speed is really what fools the batters. I also turn my wrist over at the end which creates downward movement. I have had to train my mind/body to think that I am throwing a 67 MPH fastball, so my arm speed and leg drive are exactly the same with my change-up. Spin is always something that can be improved. I have a daily routine that involves my perfect spinner (hockey puck) and a 14-inch ball that really helps me develop true (perfect) spin.
I also use the 14-inch ball during a portion of my warm-up prior to games to help stretch my fingers out and really gets my spins going. If you can spin the 14-inch ball, you should have no problem really spinning the normal ball.
Scroll down to see more in today’s TLI!