It is right at the height of professional baseball season and usually I do a column around this time of year talking about the playoffs or some other local aspect of baseball.
I wanted to give a little different twist this year, however, and talk about where some of our local players who used to play either baseball or softball are now.
Oftentimes I overlook softball since we don’t see a lot of professional softball so I thought I would ask this question: What are some of our local former softball players doing now?
SUSAN SLATON
Slaton lives in Colorado Springs, Col. where she works as a Certified Public Accountant.
Slaton had an interesting career into accounting. She served eight years in the United States Army Reserves including 2006-07 in Iraq.
A real interesting twist, however, is that while she was a student at Western Kentucky University pursuing her accounting degree, she was active in the Student Veterans Association and led the first 9/11 Heroes Run in Kentucky.
While Slaton was leading a Heroes Run, Kelly Forbes attended one. As they say, the rest is history, as Forbes has now organized the 9/11 Heroes Run in Madisonville in honor of the 9/11 heroes with the help of Patrick Rudd’s family.
KACEY JOHNSON EVANS
A three sport athlete for Hopkins Central High School who played golf, basketball and softball. She played varsity softball from the seventh grade in 1999 until she graduated in 2004.
After graduation she attended Eastern Kentucky University and graduated with a bachelor’s in Middle School Education and eventually both a Master’s and a Rank I degree.
She is currently a School Counselor at Grapevine Elementary School and is married to my law partner, Taylor Evans, and they have two children.
AMANDA CROWLEY PROW
Prow was a star pitcher of the Madisonville North Hopkins team that included Slaton and other players that won the 2001 2nd Region over Henderson County.
Prow is now a Nurse and has gone from being a softball star to a softball parent. She is now on the travel softball circuit and has coached ten year old softball with Ginny Long Watts.
She has also made the transition from player to coach as she coaches in the Lady Maroon Junior Varsity program.
GINNY LONG WATTS
Many remember Ginny Long Watts as a basketball player but she also played softball at Hopkins Central from 1998 to 2003.
After high school she attended Lindsey Wilson College and earned a bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education. She also returned to Hopkins Central and coached with legendary coaches Jesse Butch Huff and Kent Akin.
She later obtained a nursing degree from Western Governors University and she is currently a neonatal intensive care nurse. She is married and has a four year old daughter.
CATHERINE CROWLEY HUGHES
A cousin of Amanda Crowley, she has likewise made the transition from a softball star catcher on that 2001 championship team to a coach.
Hughes returned to coaching and teaching circles. She is now taking a break from coaching but is still teaching. She lives in Webster County and spends a lot of her “free time” being a mother to future athletes.
ELIZABETH HOWTON TREVAN
A 2000 graduate of Dawson Springs High School and was Valedictorian and is a rare person that played baseball and softball.
Howton is now married to Sam Trevan and lives with her daughter, Olivia, in Fort Collins, Col.
Elizabeth Howton Trevan was a diehard St. Louis Cardinal fan growing up. She was married at Coors Field in Denver, the home of the Colorado Rockies, when the Cardinals were playing the Rockies. One of the witnesses to the marriage was Trevor Rosenthal of the Cardinals.
Howton was an avid baseball player and played baseball with the boys prior to switching to fast pitch softball as a catcher. Howton is also coaching her daughter to be a switch hitter who can bat at both sides of the plate.
CAROLINE RAMSEY TAYLOR
Many people remember Caroline Ramsey Taylor as both a basketball and tennis star for the Lady Storm. This Hopkins Central Hall of Famer was also a “designated runner” in softball for Coach Butch Huff’s great run in 2003.
After graduating from Western Kentucky University and University of Louisville Law School, Taylor became a personal injury lawyer.
She has now made a most interesting career move as she has been living in Nashville for most of her professional career. However, her firm has merged with a multi-national firm of Milberg, Coleman, Bryson, Phillips and Grossman.
Taylor now lives in Amsterdam, which will be home base, but will travel to offices in London and Munich for work. She will be managing mass tort and vehicle emissions cases.
It is great to hear what these and other former athletes are doing several years past their playing days.
Mr. Cartwright is a local attorney and contributing sports columnist. Email: kcartwright@feptc.com
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