This Lady Jay is proud to take whatever punishment is needed to help her team win.
“I’ve had some pretty bad bruises, but they’re like trophies for me,” said Rylea King, a senior on the Clever softball team.
She prefers to get on base the Clever way. And that’s why Rylea King is the queen of getting hit by a pitch. “It’s like, ‘Yeah, I got hit by a pitch,'” Rylea said. “Yeah, can you do that? Can you wear that? That’s how I feel about it.”
And Rylea set the school record last year for times hit by a pitch in a season with 23. “I love it,” she said. “My sister is an eighth grader. And so I’m like, ‘OK, next year it’s your turn. Beat me.’ It’s kind of like a game we have going.”
Rylea’s sister will probably have a similar approach to the plate. “Stay on the white line,” Rylea said. “Ball’s coming at you. Don’t move. It doesn’t move. It only hurts for a little bit. Just prepare for it. ”
It’s not for everyone. Including some of her teammates. “No, generally they run,” laughed Cheryl Grant, Clever’s head coach. “A lot of them don’t want to get hit by the balls. Those balls hurt.”
“It hurts for a little bit,” Rylea said. “Then I’m like, ‘I’m on base. I’m in scoring position now.'”
Her coach thinks it’s also pretty hard for opposing pitches to get a stike on Rylea. “She has a smaller frame,” Grant said, with a laugh. “So she has a stronger strike zone. They’re pitching her inside and hitting her.”
Rylea recently was hit three times in a game. But that’s not even her personal record.
“I think I’ve been hit in a game four times,” Rylea said. “I think the state record is five. So, we’re pretty close. That’s the goal every year.”
And who would want to bet Rylea won’t hit that mark.
