Get on board with Dugout Chatter’s regular feature, The Final Pitch!
We are scouring the Internet and Social Media and keeping our ears to the street for the latest going on in the softball community.
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Here’s our TFP for Tuesday, July 4, 2023:
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THE FINAL PITCH: TORI EDWARDS
LSU-bound 3B/OF/1B Tori Edwards recently talked to Dugout Chatter about Texas Glory, Marcus High, Texas Bombers and Corona Angels, playing multiple sports, LSU, ESPN analyst, math, Kobe Bryant, “Uglies,” Waka Flocka Flame, “The Vampire Diaries,” “Grown Ups” and three-leaf clovers.
THE FINAL PITCH Q&A
Name: Tori Edwards
Hometown: Flower Mound, TX
High School: Marcus High
Club Team: Texas Glory 18U
Graduation Year: 2023
Height: 5-foot-11
Position: 3B/OF/1B
Nickname: T/Ted (by friends and family).
Twitter/Instagram: @ToriE_7/@tori.edwardsss
Honors: Alliance National All-Star Team (2023); TFL All-Star Team (2023); 1st Team DMN All-Area Team (2023); DFW FP All-Metro Plex 1st Team (2023); Alliance All-Star Watch List (2023); Dallas Morning News Preseason All-Area Team (2023); U-17/U-18 National Selection event top performers (2023); Marcus High Team MVP (2023); District 6-6A Offensive Player of the Year (2023); Academic All-District (2023); Triple Crown TX State Championship All-Tournament Team (2023); Marcus High Athlete of the Week (10/14/22); TSWA 6A All-State (2022); SB Live All-North Texas 2nd Team (2022); DFW FP All-Metro Plex 1st Team (2022); Dallas Morning News All DFW 1st Team (2022); Star Local Media All-Area Softball 1st Team (2022); District co-Offensive Player of the Year (2022); Team Offensive Player of the Year (2022); Academic All-District (2022); DMN HS Preseason All-Area Team (2022); Dallas Morning News Tue Standout (4/5/22); DFW Fastpitch All Metro Plex Honorable Mention (2021); Marcus High Team MVP (2021); 6-6A District Offensive Player of the Year (2021); DMN Player of Week Honorable Mention (4/4/21); Dallas Morning News Sports Day-All Area Elite Freshman to watch (2020); Texas Glory 14U Team Captain (2020); USA Softball All-American national champion (2018); USSSA Select 30 1st Team (2017); USA Elite Select national championship Offensive MVP (2017); USSSA All-American Direct Select (2017); USSSA All-American (2016); and Game Day All-American national champion & All-Tournament National Team (2016).
Travel Ball Fall Stats: .391 AVG, 2 HRs, 8 runs, 8 RBIs and 2 SBs.
High School Stats: .557 AVG, 12 doubles, 3 triples, 11 HRs, 32 BBs, 46 runs, 34 RBIs and .685 OBP.
Travel Ball Summer Stats (so far): .604 AVG, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 17 HRs, 32 runs, 55 RBIs and 5 SBs.
Tell us about your travel team/organization and how you became involved with them? I play for 18u Texas Glory under Kevin Shelton, but I was recruited to play for Glory back in 12U after playing one of their teams. Texas Glory is based out of Mckinney, Texas, and has been a highly-successful organization for a great amount of time. Glory has produced many successful college athletes and is a program built to help players grow not only as a person but a player.
Tell us about your high school team and how you did? My high school team made it to playoffs all three years I played for Marcus and during my junior year we made it all the way to Round 5. I ended up getting Offensive POY all three years for my district. My high school had many experienced select players compared to many high schools and our areas had many competitive teams.
Which player/team has been your toughest opponent and why? I would say that over the past few years Texas Bomber and Corona Angels have always been the toughest opponents. Both programs have highly-competitive teams and every time we play each other it’s high-energy and very fast-pace games. With Bombers, they are like an in-state rival somewhat so those games are always good because we see each other quite often. With Corona Angels, they are a high-energy team and we see them at a lot of out-of-town tournaments, so its always a good game with them.
What have you faced/overcome in life that has made you the person you are today? A big factor that has altered my life was at the beginning of my junior year. For five-+ years, I had been playing basketball and softball at a highly-competitive level. I loved both and I saw myself potentially pursuing either one in college. Once it got closer to the recruiting period, I had to make a choice of which one I wanted to pursue more. Playing both all those years really pushed my work ethic through the roof, but also piled on a ton of extra pressure and stress. It took me a few weeks, but I finally set myself to continue to pursue softball and looking back I am very thankful I had to make a big decision like that.
Why did you choose to commit to LSU? I felt like LSU was a perfect fit for me the minute I left the campus following my official visit. To be completely honest, LSU was not a school I was expecting to be considering during the 2021 summer season, but I couldn’t be more grateful that I came across the opportunity. It took me a week or less to call Coach (Beth) Torina and finalize my decision. I had six schools I was deciding between and LSU was the only place that could fit all of me needs and values. My official was the first time I had actually ever been to LSU and the environment and facilities blew me away. I looked around and all I could do is think of myself being one of the thousands of students calling LSU home every day. I am big on having a family culture and automatically felt welcomed and appreciated when I stepped on campus.
What areas are you interested in future occupations and why? I am looking into becoming a sports analyst for ESPN. I hope that one day I can sit at one of the tables and commentate/analyze all sports. My interest came from growing up watching ESPN and sports all day long. My family is a big sports family and it’s something I hope to never fall out of love for.
What’s your favorite subject to study in school and why? My favorite subject is math. Math classes were always the easiest classes for me and I always felt like I picked up on the material quickly.
Who is your sports hero and why? My sports hero would have to be Kobe Bryant. Before and after his passing, I have and will always look up to him and the way he went about improving in his sport. Many times he was looked at as excessive, but over time people began to understand his work ethic and saw his effort pay off in his game. I have his book and any time I need a little motivation, I love to read his story/quotes.
What’s your favorite book to read and why? I will not lie I am not the biggest reader, but I did enjoy the “Uglies” series (by Scott Westerfield) a lot. I am big into science fiction, so this series always kept me entertained.
What’s the best hype song and why? “No Hands” by Waka Flocka Flame. This song during high school just always got me and my teammates hype and it is now our hype song for anything at anytime.
What’s your favorite TV show to binge and why? My favorite TV show is “The Vampire Diaries” and “Outer Banks.” Both of these shows I have watched three-plus times and I would watch them again. These shows are quite opposite, but I enjoy the stories the most.
What’s your favorite movie and why? This question is always hard for me and I still feel like I don’t have an exact answer. Most of the time when asked this question I will say “Grown Ups” or “Let It Shine.” These are just my comfort movies and I could watch them over (and) over without getting bored.
Do you have a secret talent/skill? I guess a “secret talent” I have is being able to make my tongue into a three-leaf clover.
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NEWS & NOTES
***The 13th Easton Rawlings Invitational, featuring teams in 14U, 16u & 18U, is Wednesday-Sunday, July 5-9, at Ackerman Park in Glen Ellyn, IL. Beverly Bandits Premier-Conroy is the defending tournament champion.
Follow the tournament online HERE.
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HSOTD
Today’s Hype Song of the Day is …
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BTITW
Today’s Best Thing In The World is …
Tony Stark vs. Steve Rogers 🍩
Promo for ‘Captain America: Civil War’ pic.twitter.com/0810jSnMuM
— Marvel Facts (@MarveIFacts) June 29, 2023
— Carlos Arias, Dugout Chatter (Follow Carlos on Twitter @Los_Stuff)
