The Fastpitch Academic Midwest 18U team won the Softball World Series at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri last month. Pictured are, bottom row from left, Rainee Gordon, Caitlyn Brooks, Taylor Harmeson, Kelsey Lovelace, and assistant coach Cathy Richards. Top row from left, head coach Tony Baird, Aliysa Baird, Natalie Summers, Kaitlyn Kendall, Madison Collins, Addison Richards, Jacie Buttz and assistant coach Brad Harmeson.
Kelsey Lovelace ended her travel softball on a high note.
The recent Columbus North graduate and her team finished as the 18U champions with the Fastpitch Academics Midwest (FAM) in the Softball World Series at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.
“We struggled at the beginning but really turned it on at the end of the season,” Lovelace said. “I felt confident going into it, but it is so hard to win nationals. You could tell my team wanted to keep playing. We wanted to end it on a good note. It was unexpected but super exciting and a great way to end softball.”
The road to winning wasn’t easy. Against fierce competition, FAM finished pool play at two wins and a tie. After winning the bracket game, Lovelace and team advanced to the semifinals.
In the semifinal round, FAM rallied for a 3-2 win, then won the championship game 9-4.
“It was bittersweet because I made the last out to end the game. I looked at my glove and I was like, ‘I’m done. This was it,’” said Lovelace, who played shortstop. “We all hugged each other, and we started crying, but it was happy tears. It was a great way to go out.”
Outside of softball, Lovelace got to enjoy some recreational activities such as tubing and beach volleyball and had the opportunity to see Hulk Hogan when the WWE wrestling legend visited the restaurant where Lovelace and the team were eating dinner.
“It was a really good experience because there was so much stuff to do down there as a team,” Lovelace said.
During her senior season with the Bull Dogs last spring, Lovelace led the team with a .483 batting average and 10 doubles and was second on the team with three home runs. She also did some fill-in pitching to help out the pitching staff. She went 13⅔ innings, allowing 25 runs — zero were earned — with 21 hits, four walks and nine strikeouts. She was named First-Team All-Conference Indiana and was named The Republic Softball Player of the Year at the conclusion of the season.
Lovelace spent the past 3½ years with FAM. With her travel softball finished, Lovelace is excited for the next chapter of her life. She will continue her academic and softball career at Calumet College of St. Joseph starting this fall.
Lovelace last week moved into a house where she is staying with some of her softball teammates. She came back home and will leave for CCSJ to begin the fall semester Aug. 17. She begins practice a couple of days later with her classes beginning Aug. 26. She intends to major in psychology.
“I’ll get a full week up there just settling down and getting to know it a little bit better and kind of getting to know the girls,” Lovelace said, “and so basically right when I get up there, it’s go time.”
