Champion’s Williams is a rarity

Molly Williams was a freshman when she began calling pitches for the Champion High School softball team. The Golden Flashes junior says the endeavor was not an immediate success.

But by the end of her sophomore season (2015), Williams and Haylee Gardiner were clicking on all cylinders. Behind Gardiner’s two-hit shutout, Champion won its third Division III state crown in five seasons with a 4-0 shutout of Bloom-Carroll. Williams selected every pitch.

“It was pretty intimidating,” Williams said of becoming a starter and then being asked by Coach Cheryl Weaver to call the pitches. “We became really close, pretty good friends. Sophomore year, it just clicked.”

Years ago, Williams began her softball career on the mound.

“I started off as a pitcher and I went to pitching lessons,” Williams said. Before long, her team needed a backstop and she found a home behind the plate.

“I realized that I love catching,” Williams said, admitting it’s no easy chore. “The worst is probably catching batting practice and each hitter gets 10 pitches and they foul some off. Some hit you in the arms or in the mask. But in a game, it doesn’t really faze me.”

This season, the Golden Flashes finished 26-4, again winning the All-American Conference Blue Tier. Williams was moved up to lead-off batter. “A lot of people hate lead-off, but for me it doesn’t matter where I bat in the order,” Williams said.

The Golden Flashes again won a district title, but lost to South Range, 6-1, in the regional semifinals.

“I love playing for Coach Weaver — she [mixes] fun with work.”

Williams also has three varsity letters in basketball and one for volleyball. “Basketball is a lot more physical, with a lot more conditioning,” Williams said. “Softball is definitely my favorite sport.”

Williams is thinking of going into the military to study engineering when she graduates a year from now.

“I feel that with the military it would be more of an adventure.”

— Tom Williams, The Vindicator