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 info@extrainningsoftball.com and also los.extrainningsoftball@gmail.com.
Here’s our TLI for Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022:
*****
EXTRA ELITE SPOTLIGHT: ADDIE RUDGE
2028 C/3B/UT Addie Rudge recently talked to Extra Inning Softball about Ohio Thunderbolts 2027-Williamson, energy and leadership, vatting and speed, Ohio Little League, USSSA Select 30 National Training Camp, competition, helping people, Nelly, Athletes Unlimited and Patty Gasso.
EXTRA ELITE SPOTLIGHT Q&A
Name: Adelynn “Addie” Rudge
Hometown: Boardman, OH
High School: Boardman High
Club Team: Ohio Thunderbolts 2027-Williamson
Graduation Year: 2028
Height: 5-foot-7
Position: C/3B/UT
Nickname: Addie
Twitter: @AddieRudge2028
Honors: 4.0 GPA; High Honor Roll; Student Leader at Boardman Glenwood Junior High; Youth All-American Home Run Derby champion (2021); Youth All-American Elite Invite (2021); All-Sanctioned World Series All Star Invite (2022); Boardman Little League District and Ohio State champion and Central Region semifinalist (2022); and USSSA Select 30 National Training Camp invitee.
Travel Ball Highlights/Summer Stats: Sub-2.0 pop time while catching, .364 batting average on 237 at bats, 35 pick-offs while catching 50 percent of the time against “A” level talent, 62 percent quality at bats, 59 RBIs and 8 percent strikeout rate.
Tell us about your travel team/organization and how you became involved with them? During the 2020-2021 season, I was playing for the Ohio Warriors and playing PGF Events with The Ohio Outlaws. I had the opportunity to play against Coach Steve Williamson and his Ohio Emeralds Team and was impressed with them and his coaching style. I have always played up a year or two and following that season, I decided to drop back closer to my age group, as my Warriors team was older and approaching high school and I did not want to sit while they were playing! My parents and I approached Steve and he welcomed us into the Emeralds Organization. Months after we joined, Coach Steve made the decision to join the Thunderbolts organization, which has been great!
What do you bring to the team? I bring energy and leadership to this team and as the catcher have great communication skills. I enjoy providing direction to all my teammates and consulting with our pitchers when needed. According to my teammates, I am also very supportive of their efforts both when times are good and when they are struggling. (I was working on this document while driving to the PGF in Indianapolis this past weekend, so I had the opportunity to ask some of them!)
What areas are you focusing on/trying to improve this fall? Batting and speed. I have a low strikeout ratio and usually put the bat on the ball, but I am looking for more power and consistency. I am also looking to pick up speed on the bases. I started playing volleyball this year for school and the conditioning has been great for me. I am also tall and slender for my age at 5-foot-7. I need to take advantage of the weight I have lost during conditioning and my changing body and pick up some mph!
Can you tell us about your experience at the Little League Ohio State championships? I had taken a couple years off playing Little League and thought I was done with it, as my travel ball involvement increased. I never even signed up to play this year and decided to go watch my Boardman teammates play their first game back in the spring. While watching, something just made me want to play another year and I asked my dad if I could. We talked about it and that night he made some calls and got me signed up. We could tell right from the start we were going to do something special. As the season progressed, our goal went from winning the District championship to something much bigger. Winning the Ohio state championship was a great feeling, but when we arrived in Indianapolis to play in the Central Regionals was when it really hit us that we did something great. The stadium was beautiful … and to see all the TV cameras and signs really made it feel special. And there is nothing like seeing yourself pick off a runner or drive a run home on ESPN! I guess the best part though was representing my hometown of Boardman, Ohio. We had so many people wishing us good luck and coming to send us off in parades. When we were out in Indianapolis, we found out that people were at local restaurants having watch parties for the games! Just this past week, we were invited to attend our Boardman Township Trustee Meeting where we were individually honored with a proclamation and state championship sign that will be hung along the road by the Field of Dreams, our home field. It was just a completely different feeling than Travel Ball … and is something I will never forget.
Can you talk about getting an invitation to the USSSA Select 30 National Training Camp? I was so happy to get invited to Select 30! I was nominated by Coach Steve Williamson, my Ohio Thunderbolts coach. Playing up the past couple years, I was starting to see several of my older travel ball friends and teammates get nominated. But being younger, I really wasn’t eligible, yet, but seeing them get nominated made me work harder and want to achieve the same things! A couple of my Bolts’ teammates were also nominated and I really look forward to attending with them not only to get better ourselves, but to share what we learned with the rest of our team. I have also learned that at our level we see the same girls almost every weekend at the top tournaments. I look forward to going down and working out with them as well in a different format. I am honored to have been nominated and look forward to representing the Bolts and my 2028 class!
Which player/team was your toughest opponent and why? With the schedule we play, every team is tough, so it’s hard to pick one! Batting is always strong and pitchers consistently hit their marks with great movement and spin.
What areas are you interested in future occupations and why? I would like to either be a nurse, doctor or orthodontist. I just enjoy being around people and helping them!
What’s your favorite hype song and why? “Here Comes the Boom” by Nelly, because I like to bring the Boom at every game!
What’s your favorite TV show to binge and why? NCAA and Athletes Unlimited Softball to build my softball IQ!
Who is your sports hero and why? For a while, it was definitely Jocelyn Alo. But this past year, I really started liking Coach (Patty) Gasso at Oklahoma. Her teams perform so well and there is something about her coaching style that I really like. I also saw on the news the other day that she was rewarded with a big coaching contract, which is great for a female coach!
Scroll down to see more highlights …
