PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — Florida State star catcher, Michaela Edenfield homered in her Women’s College World Series debut, to the surprise of absolutely no one in the Panhandle.
In her first at-bat in the WCWS Thursday night, Edenfield hit a two-run home run to put Florida State up 2-0 over Oklahoma State, a game they would go on to win 8-0 (six-innings).
“I was thrilled, but I’ll also tell you I wasn’t surprised because I’ve seen her do things that normal 14, 15, 16-year-old athletes can’t do,” Edenfield’s former travel softball coach Rick Green said.
As a redshirt sophomore, Edenfield has hit 12 home runs, leads the team with 55 RBI’s and has drawn a team-leading 46 walks.
“You don’t think of when you’re coaching a kid in ninth grade that this is what’s going to happen,” former Sneads Head Softball Coach Shawn Graham said. “And so that’s phenomenal for her. I’m grateful for the time she gave me as the head coach.”
Not much has changed for Edenfield since her time in Jackson County, to now playing on national television.
“She walked down the third base line, picked up a handful of chalk, rub it on her bat filler bat and then step in the box,” Graham said. “She still does the same thing.”
The consensus story for those who know Edenfield before her national success, it didn’t just come overnight. The long summers with Florida Elite, the rainy Panhandle days in the batting cages, and all the extra hours behind the scene were all just building blocks to a home run on the biggest state in America.
“That’s what this story is about. Hard work pays off,” Graham said. “And that’s the reason why all those little girls that look up to her at the game.”
“For young girls that come from small towns like we do,” Edenfield’s former teammate Marissa Baxter said. “She’s able to, to show them that you can dream and you can do it. And all you need is a little hard work and determination.”
With Florida State’s game one win, they entered the winner’s bracket and will play Washington on Saturday, June 3 at 6:00 CST.