THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 26, 1995 TAG: 9504260629
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
Great Bridge cleanup batter Emily Ouzts very well could have been on the Wildcats' track team for the amount of time she's spent running around the softball field.
With a .627 batting average and a .667 on-base percentage, it seems she has spent most of the season circling the diamond.
But Ouzts doesn't stop once she crosses home plate. ``She finds the time to touch all the bases in life,'' Great Bridge coach Noble Palmer says.
Ouzts, a four-year starter for the Wildcats, is also active in her church and the National Honor Society, and has a 3.5 grade-point average.
Last year, she spent her first season in centerfield after being one of the area's top first basemen and came out with first-team all-district and region honors. She also was a second-team All-Tidewater and all-state pick.
And after last week's 7-for-9 performance at the plate, which included two doubles, a triple, a home run and nine RBIs, Ouzts can add The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star's female athlete of the week award to a resume that has the college scouts abuzz.
Last Tuesday, Ouzts had one of her team's three hits as the Wildcats, South Hampton Roads' fourth-ranked team, blanked Wilson, 4-0.
Friday, she went 2 for 2, hit a three-run home run and knocked in another run to give Great Bridge a 7-3 victory over Oscar Smith.
In a 15-5 decision over Granby on Saturday, Ouzts was 4 for 5, with two doubles, a triple and five RBIs.
``I knew I needed to do well for those games,'' she said. ``The team was counting on me. I needed to come up with the big hits.''
But those big hits haven't always come easily for Ouzts, who has battled confidence problems at the plate.
``Until this year,'' she said, ``no matter how good my average was, I haven't had confidence.''
Offseason work under the guidance of hitting coach Dave Adamson, along with Ouzts' drive to excel in everything she does, have made all the difference.
``It's my senior year,'' she said. ``It's now or never. This is my year to be big on the team. It's my answer to the call of duty.''
The opponents have heard her reply all too clearly - the sound of the balls off her bat has had them running for the fences. by CNB