Senior right-hander Ellie Fox may be best known for her strong arm, but the hard-throwing pitcher has more than one aspect to her softball game for Yorkville.
Much more.
Once again, she’s using the high school season to show off her hitting prowess, too. And the thing is, it still flies under the radar. Could it be as simple as first impressions are hard to shake?
Maybe.
“I just never was able to hit,” Fox said, referring to her early days in T-ball. “When I was little, I was always pretty big and tall but nothing ever clicked. In high school, I feel like I do pretty well.”
Her stats back her up. Fox hit .378 with four home runs and 20 RBIs as a sophomore and followed that up by hitting .302 with a home run and 21 RBIs last season.
This spring, she’s hitting .349 with two homers and 22 RBIs for Yorkville (21-6, 9-1).
She was scheduled to start in the circle Monday against Oswego (14-8, 9-1) in a battle for first place but the Southwest Prairie Conference game was postponed for a day by lightning.
Pitching continues to be Fox’s strong suit for good reason. The Southeast Missouri State recruit was offered a Division I scholarship to the Ohio Valley Conference program for that ability.
Fox got a taste of varsity as a freshman when Yorkville earned a Class 4A state runner-up finish behind the pitching of Madi Reeves. For a third straight year, Fox is a starting rotation fixture.
“My freshman year, I made the Alabama spring trip with the team and was with them in the postseason,” said Fox, who was limited to JV games. “I was with them but I was just like there.”
She ended up 9-10 with a 2.93 ERA as a sophomore in her varsity debut, then went 8-3 with a 2.69 ERA last season and is 9-1 with a 2.37 ERA this spring.
“I tell you, she’s P.O. on her travel team and she’s going to be a P.O. in college,” Yorkville coach Jory Regnier said of Fox being categorized as a pitcher only. “But our conversation with her at the beginning of the year was, ‘You are smart, you are strong, you are capable of being in the (batter’s) box and we believe that you are capable on our team.’
“’We don’t care if you hit anywhere else. What matters to us is that you keep working here and there’s no pressure. You have the least amount of pressure of anybody when it comes to hitting.’”
Fox appreciates that support.
“They’ve always encouraged me,” she said.
Southeast Missouri coaches reached out last summer to Fox after being turned down by another prospect. Fox was also talking with Eastern Illinois, but SEMO coaches saw her pitch twice in a tournament in St. Louis and invited her for a visit.
She promptly made that visit, delaying her return home from the tournament. They offered a scholarship, and after thinking it over for a day or two, Fox decided to become a Redhawk.
“I feel like I don’t have a best pitch,” said Fox, who works individually with Kristie Spielman-Phillip of Fastpitch Training Academy. “It may be my change-up, but it depends on the day.
“Sometimes, it’s my rise.”
In her last hurrah for high school, Fox still continues to work on hitting. Lately, she’s taking her swings behind Iowa recruit Kayla Kersting, the senior catcher who bats third the order.
Regnier confirmed she had Fox square up to bunt before pitches to help get her timing down.
“She recently said she’s ready to swing full,” Regnier said. “She’s basically been on a tear since. She’s such a strong kid. When she gets hold of that ball, it’s off the bat like crazy, zipping by you.”
