This has been a year of adjusting to changes for softball player Carli Hill (Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance). But as one of the ODAC’s best hitters with a .473 batting average, 31 runs scored and 31 runs batted in, it’s safe to say that Carli is adjusting well.
The sophomore transferred to EMU this year after playing one season at York College (Pa.). Then in late March, Carli was moved to the top of the Royals’ batting order after an injury to the leadoff batter. Since the move, our Royals Athlete of the Week has flourished, batting .526 with all four of her homeruns, while the team has gone 11-3.
Carli began playing softball when she was in kindergarten, and it was her father who fueled her passion for the game.
“My dad played baseball and he started me off when I was little, so I just grew to love it,” she explained.
Part of a family that loves the sport, she grew up playing with her older sister, Payton Hill (Staunton, Va./Fort Defiance), who also plays for the EMU women. Payton influenced Carli to play softball with her at York College (Pa.), but the pair decided Eastern Mennonite would be a better fit for them.
“When I got here, Coach McCurdy and Coach Conley made me feel so comfortable,” Carli said. “They’re a great coaching staff,”
Coach JD McCurdy noted that he recruited Carli due to her athleticism and leadership ability.
“When we first recruited her she was set on going to York College to join her sister but after her first year she decided to transfer to EMU and we are glad she did,” said Coach McCurdy. “She brings excitement to our team and leads by example. Carli comes to work every day. She has extremely quick hands and hit some tape measure home runs this season!”
In a game against Roanoke last week, Carli batted 4-4 with her third home run of the year. She also scored twice and had a pair of RBIs. For the week she hit 8-for-15 and took over the ODAC lead in total hits.
She was named ODAC Player of the Week on April 14. She batted 14-for-30 on the week with at least one hit in all eight games, pushing her current hitting streak to 19 straight games. She doubled twice and homered while driving in five runs and scoring ten times.
Carli is fourth in the ODAC with a .473 batting average, and is top nine in no less than 11 offensive categories. She explained that her quick hand-eye coordination comes from her time spent practicing in the offseason.
“If I don’t hit good in a game I always go home and hit extra in our cage,” she explained. “I don’t like not playing good so in the offseason I play all the time so I don’t get rusty.”
Being her biggest critic is something that Carli is well aware of. She explained that her teammates are similar in that they are tough on themselves when they don’t hit well. Perhaps being a perfectionist is what has led them to be the best offensive teams in the ODAC.
“Everyone on the team is a good hitter in their individual way,” said Carli. “We have some home run hitters, some line drive hitters, and then we have Tiffani Shaheen (Fluvanna, Va./Fluvanna County) who bunts and always gets on base because she’s extremely fast. We have a lot of great hitters.”
When asked what she brings to the team she explained that positivity is the greatest and most consistent thing she has to offer.
“I always try to make everyone feel positive and happy,” she said. “I try to make everyone feel good about themselves if they get a bad hit. I’m like the joker on the team, I make everyone laugh.”
This article has been updated to include Hill’s ODAC Player of the Week honor.