HUMBOLDT — Humboldt High senior softball player Emily Ross grew up at the softball fields watching her older sisters play and now carries her own talents to Neosho County Community College.
Ross has been a three-year varsity softball player at Humboldt after the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out her freshman season. The catcher now has the opportunity of continuing her monster career at the collegiate level.
The Lady Cub can remember playing T-ball as a little kid. At age 8, she joined the Chanute High Octane travel team.
The Humboldt native’s top skills include her power hitting at the plate and her aggressive demeanor behind the plate. Keeping pitches in front of her, possessing a strong arm and reading the basepaths well to predict where runners are positioned are only a few of her strengths.
“One of her biggest strengths is to lead by example,” said Humboldt softball coach Brad Piley. “She gets out there and plays hard. She’s got a great bat, defensively she runs the team well because she sees the whole field and she’ll get everything going right. She’s got a strong arm and she has all the tools to go on and do well in college.”
Ross said she is proud of what she’s been able to accomplish on the diamond and understands how she’s been able to help her team out the most.
“If I do something wrong, I’ll go back out there and do the right thing,” she said.
Ross was named All League and received honorable mention last year. “We’ve gotten regional runner-up every year since I’ve been here.”
She hopes teammates would describe herself as:
“Reliable. Whenever I get up to bat I’m usually on base,” Ross said. “When I’m catching, I usually don’t let anything by me so when there is a runner on third, they don’t have to worry about me letting it go and the runner coming home.”
Piley regards Ross as one of the best players he’s had the chance to coach, alongside former catcher Winter Snyder.
The appreciation is mutual.
“He’s helped me a lot,” said Ross. “Before I got into high school my batting was not that great and then once I got here it started to go up. He’s helped me a lot with catching and blocking and being able to make throws to second more often.”
Ross hopes her final season of high school softball includes winning a state championship.
“I hope we can win state this year and then I’m looking forward to attending Neosho and doing well there,” Ross said. “Hopefully after Neosho, there is a chance to go further in my softball career.”
