Maddie Militello collects runs for SJCC softball

The grind is real for a softball batter.

Practice makes your hands hurt and you'd better barrel the ball if you don't want a ringing bat to make it feel like something pinched and poked you at the same time because it's 43 degrees outside in Ohio.

St. Joseph Central Catholic's Emma Kelbley added an injured wing to an equation that leads to failure more than half the time for great players. She was a freshman.

She dislocated her shoulder and tore her labrum early in the basketball season. She returned late in the year and didn't miss any softball, but she was never healthy and her swing never felt comfortable.

She was fighting doubts in her own head mentally and things never felt right overall.

"I had to know my shoulder was healed and get over it," she said. "Move on."

She's batting .448 with 26 runs and 25 RBI. She has nine doubles and one home run.

"Last year I was in a slump," she said. "I'm hitting better and it's helped my confidence to get better and better. If I get out, my focus is on how I get on and do better next time."

The Crimson Streaks already have three more wins than last season at 11-7.

"We can play with everyone in the league," Kelbley said. "It's a matter of hitting the ball and getting out of the inning. There's nobody in the league we can't hang with. We want to play hard and get over .500 for wins.

"One of the goals is to make it to Oak Harbor for a [district] tournament game. We want to make it as far as we can, we have a good group of girls."

SJCC beat Lakota twice, including a 5-4 home victory last week. Militello tripled and scored when Kelbley put the ball in play on the ground to walk off in the seventh inning.

"The beginning of the season was rough, then we went on a win streak and it helped us," Kelbley said. "We played Gibsonburg, we hung in the whole game and lost on a home run."

Avery Naderer is batting .483, with 29 hits, 29 runs and 19 RBI.

"She's probably the best center fielder I've ever played with," Kelbley said. "She's always diving for balls and she has a good arm. She can make it no cut to any base. Everybody expects it, she's that good.

"She puts in the extra work. We count on her to get on base with a bunt or hit and she's good on the bases. She's not afraid to say what needs to be said."

Maddie Militello is batting .404, with 14 RBI, four triples and one home run. She scored 27 runs.

"We can always count on her in the field," Kelbley said. "Her batting average is up there. You can ask her anything."

Stella Thomas has 91 strikeouts and 23 walks in 90 innings, with a 4.36 ERA. She's batting .446 with 19 RBI.

"She's committed to pitching and puts in the extra time for the team," Kelbley said. "She's consistent, we can count on her for hits. She's a leader. She'll always help someone."

Senior Rylie Holland is batting .377 with 19 RBI, 14 runs and five triples.

Savannah Foos, Cadence Waleryszak, Amaree Haralson, Noelle Young, Riley Naderer and Kayla Hessick are freshmen. Haralson has two home runs.

"We're upperclass-led," Kelbley said. "We get the younger kids involved, we're focused, we bond and we work well as a team across all ages. One of the main goals was to communicate more, we've been doing that.

"Stay positive and keep our heads high. Even when we're losing, make the next play or get the next out. Move forward and don't let our heads stay down."

Thomas, Militello, Holland, Lauren Ritzman and senior Marissa Naderer are captains for coach Chad Black.

"We all want to be the best we can," Kelbley said. "We want the best, we'll help somebody who is struggling. The other girls have experience, too. Everybody has their aspect in everything. It's a group effort.

Naderer and Kelbley played together since they were youngsters and classmate Thomas joined them three years ago after transferring from Anthony Wayne.

Kelbley's father, Mike Kelbley, organized fastpitch opportunities for three teams, third- and fourth-graders, fifth- and sixth-graders, and seventh- and eighth-graders.

"We developed a program in third-grade," Kelbley said. "It was for the school but not out of the school. I've been playing with them every other year. The seniors have always been leaders to us sophomores.

"We have expectations for the juniors and they have expectations for the sophomores. We know what everybody is capable of, same with us and the freshmen. We have expectations and we know they're capable.

"I'm excited to see what we do in the future and what we accomplish. We're going to keep getting better."

Kelbley visualized being part of a program resurgence.

"When I was in the eighth-grade, the high school team had two or three wins," she said. "We knew we'd have potential. Some of us played travel together and knew we'd help out. We saw potential last year, sophomore year we have experience and some expectations.

"We know what we can do and should do and should be executing. We have high goals for this season and next to build off. There are opportunities if we stay focused."

mhorn@gannett.com

419-307-4892

Twitter: @MatthewHornNH

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Ryle Holland has five triples for SJCC softball