By Adam Morris ’15 | Social Media Director

Sophomore pitcher Emma St. John ‘17 has helped lead the varsity softball team to a record of 10-0 start to the season.

St. John has three no-hitters so far, including a perfect game to add to her 15 career no-hitters in travel and high school softball.

“I started playing softball when I was nine,” St. John said. “I have always been a pitcher, but when I’m not pitching, I play shortstop and sometimes second base.”

Assistant Coach Marge Gatliff said he has nothing but awesome things to say about St. John.

“Her performance has helped us tremendously,” Gatliff said. “She is rock-solid and gets in the zone and goes out there and does her stuff. She has great confidence and is very capable of playing at a big time Division 1 school, no problem.”

According to Gatliff, the team’s toughest opponent thus far has been top-20 ranked St. Clair, but South came out with a win.

“An outstanding pitching performance, as Emma has shown us many times, is the greatest possible contribution for our defense,” Katie Kish ‘15 said. “She has been on fire since the season started and helps increase my confidence in what our team can accomplish this season.”

Every time Emma steps on the mound, her goal is to strike out every opponent she faces, and in return, gives South’s offense the advantage to take control of the game, Kish said.

“It has felt great to dominate the competition this early on in the season because it gives our whole team reassurance on how talented we are collectively, but also gives up the drive to keep winning and dominate in our league,” St. John said. “Throwing a no-hitter feels pretty amazing and accomplishing; I put a ton of hours into pitching, and a no-hitter means that I’m doing my job and that all those hours really did pay off.”

St. John said she mostly works out her core and legs because that is what makes her pitch with the speed she has.

“In the offseason I spend hours and hours hitting off the tee, pitching, taking ground balls, working on agility and footwork and working out,” St. John said. “My mom has gotten me to where I am now because she knows the capability I have to be successful and expect perfection from myself every game; also I am thankful for my dad for being so supportive and positive regarding the sport and my skills,” St. John said.

We have always tried to give Emma all the support she needs when it comes to softball, mother Heather St. John said.

“Whether it’s cheering her on at a game, driving her to all her tournaments or pitching lessons, or to pick up her spirits after  loss, we are here for her,” Heather said.  “I set high expectations for Emma on and off the field; I believe this has helped her in softball by pushing her to give 110% all the time.”

She wants to be the best and this has helped her become the amazing and caring young adult she is today, Heather said.

“She knows you need to work hard for greatness, she is a true student athlete,” Heather said.

The team wants to win its league and go far in the playoffs, but the ultimate goal is to win a State Championship, Gatliff said.

“The team has rallied around each other and the reason we are being so successful is because we are playing as a team and gelling together nicely,”  Gatliff said. “We all care about each other, work very hard at practice and the results are obviously very favorable.”

The team has to improve on not getting frustrated if they are losing, especially early in the game, Kish said.

They also need to have confidence in their skills and know that they will come back to win the game, Kish said.

“We need to keep working as a team. Our motto this year is: “Together we can,”” Gatliff said. “We need to work on trusting one another a little bit more, we are doing very well, but there is always room for improvement.”

St. John threw her perfect game (also a no-hitter) against Cass Tech, and the other two no-hitters against Detroit Country Day and Sterling Heights.

“A no-hitter gives me so much confidence in myself as a player and my talent level; I feel invincible on the mound,” St. John said.

St. John always has her lucky bow in before each game and it varies on if the previous game went well, if not she switches it up.

“Emma is very superstitious, she will not change anything if she is pitching well,” Heather said.  “She places certain items in her pocket for luck and wears the same bow in her hair.”

St. John also has her lucky buddy system on her fingers, which is a small medical contraption that keeps her fingers together that she had surgery on.

St. John has had surgery on three out of five fingers on her right hand, which is her pitching hand.

“When I was little my middle and ring finger on my right hand got sliced open by an ice skate and then I broke my pinky joint fielding a ground ball in practice and it shattered my middle joint in half,” St. John said.

She then had to get surgery to repair the bone and over time half of her joint disintegrated and her tendon fell off so she  had to go get surgery again to fix it so they did a full joint and tendon repair.

“When Emma shattered her finger joint on her pitching hand and was out for an entire season, it was difficult knowing all the countless hours she put in were just taken away with this one accident,” Heather said.  “It was however amazing to watch her determination to come back better than ever.”

The lack of movement in the tendons and joints sets St. John back a little bit, but she has overcome the surgeries and contraptions for her fingers to work properly.

“I also have my lucky headband on with my lucky hair tie, and lastly I have to drink a Tim Horton’s Ice Cap before my first morning game or have a coffee from Starbucks,” St. John said.

St. John said she could still improve on hitting the ball more to right field, but has full confidence in everything else. She definitely plans to play college softball.

St. John’s teammates are fully behind her on deciding to play in college.

“As much as I love getting action in the field, it’s pretty amazing watching Emma throw all the perfect games and no-hitters that she has,” Kish said. “If Emma desires to play college softball in the future, there is nothing standing in her way.  She is an outstanding athlete and one of the hardest workers I have ever witnessed in my life.”

Gatliff tries to help prepare St. John physically and mentally, to be as supportive of her as possible and make sure she has her mindset right prior to games.

“Emma has unlimited capabilities and I am most proud of how young she is, yet how mature she is on the mound,” Gatliff said.