Editor’s note: This is an opinion column.
By Bobby Mathews, Sports Editor
It shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone that Hewitt-Trussville’s Riley Quick was named the 2022 Mr. Baseball by the Alabama Sports Writers Association, just as it’s unsurprising that the Huskies’ Kenleigh Cahalan is the ASWA’s 2022 Miss Softball.
I’ve seen a lot of prep baseball and softball this season, and I can’t think of any players who are better, or who better represent their respective programs.
Quick, a 6-6 fireballer on the mound, actually has command of four pitches that he can throw for strikes. The sight of a 6-6 guy stepping toward the plate and unleashing a mid-90s fastball is intimidating, to say the least. I know I wouldn’t want to stand in the box against him. The fact that he can also hit and field makes him an extremely valuable player.
About midway through the season, Hewitt-Trussville head coach Jeff Mauldin and I had a conversation that I’ve never forgotten.
“With Riley on the mound, we always have a chance to win.”
The season bore that out. In his last start on the mound, Game 1 in the 7A state championship series against Central-Phenix City, Quick got an impressive 6-0 victory.
Cahalan hit what I think might be the hardest ball I saw all year — regardless of baseball or softball — a homer that sailed over the scoreboard at Goldie Paine Field, across the access road between the softball and baseball fields, and shattered a car windshield. It felt like Cahalan spent most of the year being walked by opposing pitchers, but when they were forced to pitch to her, Cahalan made them pay.
Then there’s the fact that her fielding percentage was .958 for the season. That’s more than impressive.
But Taylor Burt reminded me recently that the secret to Cahalan’s success is all of the stuff she does that we can’t see.
It’s the 5:30 a.m. workouts. It’s the disciplined diet. It’s the reps at the plate and in the field. It’s the work in the classroom to stay eligible to play.
We see only a tiny fraction of what makes these players great. It’s not just that Quick can throw a 96-mph fastball and follow it up with a slider at 86 mph. It’s the hours and, frankly, years of dedication that it took to get there. It’s not that Cahalan can mash a tater over any outfield wall in the stadium. It’s the endless repetition she puts in every day in order to pursue her dreams.
That kind of dedication from these players should not go unremarked.
What we see when we watch players like Riley Quick and Kenleigh Cahalan is the relentless pursuit of excellence. It says a lot about Hewitt-Trussville’s baseball and softball programs that these two kids are the first ones to earn Mr. Baseball and Miss Softball awards from the same school in the same year.
Be proud, Trussville. These are some great kids.
Bobby Mathews is sports editor at The Tribune and the author of the novel, Living the Gimmick, from Shotgun Honey Books. Reach him on Twitter: @bobbymathews or via email: bobby.mathews@trussvilletribune.com.