GREENFIELD — Along with great skills, Emma Bolding has her preparation game down, too.
The 14-year old Greenfield girl was the national champion of Major League Baseball’s 2019 Pitch, Hit and Run — Softball competition for the 13-14 age group, held July 6 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio.
She was one of 10 champions — including both boys and girls from ages 7-to-14 — crowned during festivities coinciding with the MLB All-Star Game at the home of the Cleveland Indians.
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Click here to purchase photos from this gallery“It means a lot (to win this),” she said. “I’ve been doing (this competition) for a long time and I had never got to experience it to this point.”
The winner is determined by a combined score in all three categories.
For pitching, players got six softballs to throw from a pitching rubber or chalk line from 35-feet away to a strike zone, most commonly designated by a mat assembled to a backstop or fence with zip ties.
For hitting, contestants got six tries hitting off a tee to a measuring tape positioned from home plate to straight-away center field. Hitters were scored on distance and accuracy. For example, if the ball was hit 250-feet away, but 30 feet off the tape, the hitter was credited for 220 points.
In running, the competitors were timed on their speed from second base to home.
Bolding advanced through local (a county-wide event in Greenfield), sectional (at Victory Field in Indianapolis) and team (Cincinnati Reds) competitions to qualify for one of three spots at the national event.
All 30 MLB teams had Pitch, Hit and Run competitions at their ballparks.
In Cleveland, Bolding was one of three girls competing in her age group. She did not advance to the finals by just winning the competition at Great American Ballpark in June. Scores from all 30 team markets were compared and the top three in each age group division moved on to the finals.
She had won team competitions before and had previously competed at the Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field and the Chicago White Sox home of Guaranteed Rate Field, but this was the first time advancing to the national finals.
Major League Baseball announced the national qualifiers on the MLB Network, but Emma was able to get the results before the show aired. She couldn’t wait for the TV show, so she started combing the internet in hopes of answers to her eagerness.
“I was really excited. I thought I was looking at something wrong,” she said of finding the information before it was announced by the network. “I sat there with a big smile on my face while my dad (Jerry Bolding) was waiting for the TV program.”
Her internet research paid dividends in the competition, as well. She watched last year’s national competition and saw the pitching target was different than what she had thrown to in previous rounds. Instead of a mat with a pictured target, a hole was cut out and the contestants had to throw the ball through the hole and into a netting.
To help Emma with her practice, Jerry got some plywood and built a replica.
“I think it helped me a lot,” Emma said. “I was comfortable and (the other girls) didn’t know that was going to be there. I was more comfortable and knew what I was doing.”
It was likely the difference in her winning the competition. She was trailing after two events. It all came down to pitching and she hit the target three out of six times. Both of her competitors went 0-for-6.
It wasn’t the only help dad provided. For hitting practice accuracy, he would have Emma try to knock the leaves off the oak tree in the front yard.
In an interview after the event, Emma told MLB Network that one of her favorite parts of the competition was practicing in the front yard with her dad.
“It was an emotional thing, because she had aged out of the competition. It was now or never,” Jerry said. “I’m proud of her.”
Jerry accompanied Emma to Cleveland, and other family members joined later in the week. They were treated to the Futures Game, Celebrity All-Star Softball Game, Home Run Derby and got free tickets to The Killers concert among other All-Star offerings.
Emma was in the outfield catching fly balls during the Home Run Derby.
It was quite an experience for all.
“It was awesome, a ‘Wow!’ experience,” Jerry said.
Besides the competition, Emma said her favorite part was a stadium fireworks show.
Jerry came across the Pitch, Hit and Run competition a few years ago and thought it would be a good way to work on dealing with playing under pressure. Both Emma and his youngest daughter, Samantha, who is a year younger than Emma, have participated in the event. In fact, Emma finished just ahead of Samantha in the competition at Victory Field.
So, Jerry won’t be tearing down his pitching target replica anytime soon.
For Emma, though, it was a great way to end her summer before she begins her high school athletic career at Eastern Hancock High School, where she participates in volleyball, basketball and softball.
“I was not going to have another chance,” Emma said. “I wanted to go out with a bang and I did that.”
Just like the fireworks show she loved at Progressive Field.
