By Phil Goble
Copyright 2009 The Messenger / Reprinted with permission
Softball is over.
There will be no more college games, no more practices, no more competition.
The Little League World Series championship, the 1-A state crown, the NCAA tournaments with Campbell University are all just memories now in the career of Karlie Love.
“It’s crazy,” Love said recently. “I can’t believe how fast it went by.”
Time flies when you are having fun and playing well.
Karlie ended with huge honors this season — a spot on the Atlantic Sun All-Academic team, First Team Atlantic Sun All-Conference, First Team Academic All-District III and, the biggest of all, a slot on the ESPN The Magazine/Academic All-America Team.
“I’m proud of it,” she said. “I didn’t expect it at all.”
It was her fourth time on the Atlantic Sun All-Academic team and her second on the All-District III Academic list. She was also a three-time National Fast-Pitch Coaches Association Academic Scholar Athlete.
“I was just going to do my best,” Karlie said of her mindset after her high school career at East Surry ended with a state championship. “I wanted to be a star player, a key player who is always on the field, but I didn’t know it would happen.”
She became all that — and more.
For her Campbell career, Karlie finished second all-time in games played with 241, home runs with 29 and walks with 94. She was third in RBIs with 123 and hit-by-pitch with 30. She was fifth in slugging percentage (.485) and total bases (300), 10th in at-bats (618) and hits (185) and 11th in career batting average (.299).
She set a single-season Lady Camels record in 2008 when she was hit by a pitch 15 times. She came within four this year of tying the single-season home run record.
More importantly, she led her team to back-to-back Atlantic Sun Softball Tournament championships and NCAA Tournament berths. This year, the Lady Camels were 38-16.
“Each year, she improved,” Campbell Coach Drew Peterson said. “She was very dedicated, always looking to take the next step — and she did. In each year, in each category, she improved. It was really astounding.”
He’s not kidding — just look at her batting average.
As a freshman, Karlie played first base and as the designated player and hit .207. As a sophomore, she played first base, occasionally pitched and hit .277. As a junior infielder, she batted .311. As a senior first baseman, she hit a team-best .384. She also ranked in the top 25 nationally in home runs (16th), home runs per game (21st) and RBIs (24th).
“Her daily work ethic is legitimate,” Peterson said. “You are always getting her best. Her focus was to honor God by being the best she could be at her position.”
The last season, Karlie believes, was her best.
The last game, she said, was the almost-perfect topper — a 3-for-4 day at the plate with two doubles and a home run. Unfortunately, the Camels lost, 9-5, to Radford in the Chapel Hill regional, ending their season.
“I’m not a crier at all,” Karlie said. “I’m usually pretty tough. But I couldn’t help it. It was tough thinking that all of this was over. So many things in life have been learned through ball — setting goals, perseverance, overcoming adversity. I think so much of who I am has come through playing sports.”
She not only learned about life, she taught it to others.
"If I was going to list the character qualities I wanted in a student-athlete, it would be Karlie,” Peterson said. “She was the horse in our lineup, but if you were around our team, you wouldn’t know it. As she grew, she was always looking for ways to help other people. She’s a winner.”
She always has been. And she knows she’s been blessed with what the game has given her since she first tossed a softball at 6 years old.
“Looking back, I got to do some cool things,” she said. “The World Series championship, the state championship; my summer team got to travel all around the country. It’s crazy to think how much a part of my life it (softball) has been. I’ve played more of my life than I haven’t played. So many of my memories, my friends came from playing. It really shaped my life.”
Yet it wasn’t her entire life. Her family made sure that the game always had its place, but never took over.
In fact, it will be tucked away rather quickly. Karlie will soon begin an internship with the North American Mission Board. She spend next year at the University of Hawaii helping international students acclimate to American society and culture. She eventually wants to work with relief efforts in Third World countries.
She is a well-rounded, very talented, special young lady.
“If you’re her father, you’d think ‘Wow, how’d I get so lucky to have her as a daughter?,’” Peterson said. “If you’re son is going to marry her, you’d say he hit a home run. She fulfills everything a young lady should be.”
Softball might be over, but Karlie Love is just beginning the game of life.
Courtesy: Will Bratton