By Dean Backes
MaxPreps.com
Nicole Hudson has been wielding a dangerous bat for just a little over three high school softball seasons. Now, that hitting prowess has etched the Webb City slugger’s name into the Missouri State High School Activities Association’s record books.
Last week Hudson surpassed Bevier’s Valerie Teter as Missouri’s high school softball home run leader after she cranked No. 35 over the center field fence in the first inning of a 7-1 win over fellow Central Ozark foe Nixa.
The Cardinal senior also belted a pair of doubles, one of which scored two runs, in leading her team at the plate with three runs batted in during the six-run win.
Earlier last week, Hudson tied the record by ripping a solo shot in the seventh inning of a 4-0 triumph over East Newton.
As good as Hudson is from the plate, she may be even better from the mound. The 2007 Class 3 first team All-State pitcher threw a perfect game in the win over East Newton, and allowed four singles, while striking out 10 batters, in the complete game triumph over Nixa.
“What a lot of people don’t realize is that she used to be known as a pitcher,” Webb City softball coach Walter Resa said. “Now most people think of her as a hitter.”
Hudson is one of those special athletes that blends hard work and desire with a lot of talent. According to Resa, Hudson showed up for every game as an eighth grader, just to get a feel for what to expect once her varsity playing career rolled into high gear.
As a freshman Hudson was more of a slasher/bunter. But once she showcased her talents on the practice field, Resa knew she had more to give.
“She’s one of those once in a life time players,” Resa said. “Once I saw her hand speed and the way she shifted her body weight I knew I had to get her hitting the ball.”
The official at bats have been harder to come by for Hudson as her reputation has grown. So when a pitcher dares to throw to her, Hudson has to make her pay. In the last three games, Hudson has been walked seven times.
Tuesday night, she walked three times in a 3-0 win over Ozark. On the one occasion she was pitched to, Hudson belted a shot to the fence that was picked off by an Ozark outfielder. On the mound she struck out 16 batters.
Hudson, who has verbally committed to Missouri, has now struck out 15 batters on three separate occasions this season.
Next up for the Cardinal slugger? Former Valley Park hitter Elizabeth Dain’s MSHSAA career runs batted in record. Hudson sits just two off of the pace of Dain’s 142 career RBI.
Volleyball: Patriots Play By the Rules
Fourth-ranked Parkway South’s 25-21, 25-20, 20-25, 20-25, 16-14 win over top-ranked Lafayette had everything you would expect from two great teams battling tooth-and-nail for early season success.
Power, intensity, desire, effort…
The match also had a sense of fair play.
During a crucial stretch of Parkway South’s 25-20 game four loss to the Lancers, an official ruled that a ball landed out despite the line judge’s ruling that the ball was in. The call would have allowed the Patriots to pull within 22-21 of the Lancers.
However, after several protests and an admission by Patriot coach Carrie Steele that the ball landed in, the official overturned the call allowing Lafayette to take a 23-20 advantage and eventually tie the match at two games apiece.
Steele said she was just sticking up for the line judge.
“I reacted quickly because I heard the boos and it bothered me,” Steele told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “She’s a parent; it’s not her job and she made a great call.”
In the fifth set, Parkway South (7-0) was staring defeat in the face after falling behind 14-13 on Lafayette hitter Torrie Sellern’s kill. But the Patriots responded by scoring the final three points, capped by Becca Vieker’s match winning kill, to hand Lafayette (10-1) it’s only loss of the season.
Baseball: Ozark’s Mather Chooses ASU
After a weekend visit to Tempe, Ariz., Ozark’s Ethan Mather knew where he wanted to continue his baseball career.
The Tiger pitcher made his intentions to play for Arizona State next season known Saturday by verbally committing to the Pac-10 school shortly before his weekend visit concluded.
The two-time Class 4 All-State hurler went 8-0 a year ago and finished his junior season with a 1.62 earned run average and 86 strike outs in 60 innings of work.
Mather, a two-time all-Ozarks pitcher, pitched the Tigers to a complete game 7-3 win over Oak Park in the Class 4 semifinals last season. Ozark went on to win the state championship with a 3-2 win over Francis Howell.