Slashing her way to the top: Baker's Sloan named Hitter of the Year

BAKER — In baseball, .300 is the magic number. If you can hit .300, more often than not, you’re bound for Cooperstown.

Over the course of his 24-year career, legendary center fielder Ty Cobb hit .366, the best mark a major leaguer has ever managed. At the NCAA level, Rickie Weeks Jr. owns the career batting record, hitting .465 for Southern University in Baton Rouge from 2001-2003.

And when it comes to NCAA softball, Jill Justin sits atop the mountain, the owner of a .467 career batting average after four years with Northern Illinois from 1986-89.

But those marks aren’t good enough for Baker senior Shelby Sloan. She aims higher.

“My goal every season, every time I play is to hit .500,” said Sloan, the Daily News Small Schools Hitter of the Year. “.500 or above every season.”

This past year, Sloan led the area with a .630 batting average. Just let that sink in.

Playing wherever the Gators needed her, be it the infield, the outfield or the circle, she slashed .630/.649/1.178 over 22 games. Her OPS almost touched 2.000, checking in at 1.827.

It’s all thanks to a simplified approach and a tireless work ethic.

“Honestly, it doesn’t come easy,” said Sloan, who is bound for South Alabama this fall on a softball scholarship. “I put a lot of time and work into it, and that wouldn’t have been able to happen if my parents hadn’t put so much money and so much of their time out to help me. And also I think my faith’s a big part of it; I wouldn’t be able to do any of it without God.”

The Gators finished with just a 10-12 record this past year, but they grabbed arguably their biggest win in the past five seasons late in April, beating Chipley12-2 to claim their first victory in the District 3-1A tournament since 2014. Sloan went 4-for-4 with three triples, two RBI and four runs scored.

For the season, she scored 37 runs, drove in 27 more and hit six doubles, 11 triples and four home runs with 15 stolen bases.

“She does everything right,” Baker coach John Carlisle said. “She works hard in the weight room. She doesn’t skip out on reps. She hits her marks in the weight room. She’s a field rat. She’s always trying to find something that she can do to keep improving on the field, off the field, in the classroom.

“She works hard.”

And her work ethic extended beyond the confines of her own game, Carlisle said. For all the time effort she put into herself, Sloan put as much, if not more, work into helping her teammates get better.

“She’s just an all-around great kid,” Carlisle said. “Not only does she want to improve, but she wants others around her too improve as well and reap those benefits.”

Numbers aside, that’s what made Sloan so attractive to the University of South Alabama’s softball program, and she promises to bring that same energy every day in Mobile.

And she’ll bring her lofty goals, too.

“Yeah, it’s honestly gonna be a little harder to (hit .500), but I think if I keep that same mindset and my work ethic is still the same, I know I can still do it,” Sloan said. “It’ll be a little harder, but I think it’s always good to set high goals for yourself.”

Small Schools All-Area Softball Team

First Team

C: Paiyton Perry, Sr., Paxton - .370 BA, 17 runs, 12 RBI, four XBH, 10 SB

INF: Haylee Hayes, Fr., Paxton - .469 BA, 23 runs, 18 RBI, six XBH, four SB

INF: Celestine Truett, Sr., Walton - .413 BA, 23 runs, 29 RBI, nine XBH

INF: Shelby Miller, So., Freeport - .385 BA, 22 runs, 23 RBI, four XBH, 18 SB

INF: Haley Nelson, Sr., Rocky Bayou (stats not made available)

OF: Shelby Sloan, Sr., Baker - .630 BA, 37 runs, 27 RBI, 21 XBH, 15 SB

OF: Tori Watts, Jr., Freeport - .386 BA, 28 runs, 11 RBI, four XBH, 19 SB

OF: Rominey Wilner, Sr., Rocky Bayou (stats not made available)

UTIL: Eryn Watson, So. Baker - .378 BA, 12 runs, 20 RBI, two XBH, four SB

P: Hailee Bryan, Jr., Paxton - 59.1 IP, 1.06ERA, 106 Ks, .128 OBA, .379 BA, 24 runs, nine RBI, eight XBH, two SB

P: Sydni Free, Fr., Freeport - 101 IP, 1.87 ERA, 83 Ks, .182 OBA, .303 BA, 22 runs, 24 RBI, 10 XBH, 15 SB

Second Team

C: Jilian Thompson, So., Baker - .246 BA, two runs, 14 RBI, six XBH

INF: Alex Plowick, Fr., Freeport - .382 BA, 15 runs, 13 RBI, three XBH, nine SB

INF: Sadie Varnum, Jr., Paxton - .381 BA, 21 runs, 17 RBI, six XBH, one SB

INF: Jolee Sloan, 8th, Baker - .357 BA, 29 runs, 10 RBI, one XBH, seven SB

INF: Madison Stubblefield, Sr., Rocky Bayou (stats not made available)

OF: Jasmine Wilson, So., Walton - .374 BA, 25 runs, 21 RBI, six XBH, 15 SB

OF: Jordyn Bradley, Fr., Paxton - .333 BA, 14 runs, 16 RBI, three XBH, three stolen bases

OF: Josie Mason, Jr., Baker - .327 BA, 16 runs, eight RBI, two XBH, nine SB

UTIL: Macy Danley, Sr., Walton - .348 BA, 24 runs, 10 RBI, four XBH, four SB

P: Kyrstyn Head, So., Walton - 137 IP, 2.61 ERA, 157 Ks, .198 OBA, .400 BA, 18 runs, 27 RBI, 19 XBH, one SB

P: Camryn Brazile, Sr., Paxton - 52.1 IP, 2.54 ERA, 70 Ks, .234 OBA, .431 BA, 21 runs, 24 RBI, 13 XBH, two SB

Honorable Mention: Jayde Henderson, Jr., Baker; Lexi Lucas, Fr., Baker; Alyson Watson, Sr., Baker; Alexis Rittman, Jr., Freeport; Ellana Schumacher, So., Walton