It’s been months since the Carl Albert softball team won the state championship, but pitching phenom Abby Meador, 17, is still getting recognition for an outstanding season.
Tuesday, the Carl Albert ace received the Ferguson Jenkins Outstanding Student Athlete Award along with 11 other Oklahoma baseball and softball players, as well as coaches.
She was ecstatic to receive it after some careful research of course.
“I didn’t really know about it at first or what it was, but after I found out only 5 softball players get it, I was pretty proud that all my hard work paid off,” said Meador.
The soft-spoken superstar traveled to the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and Jim Thorpe Museum where Los Angeles Dodgers Clayton Kershaw and former Oklahoma State softball player and two time Olympic Gold medalist Michelle Smith were also honored.
The award is well-deserved for the Carl Albert pitcher. Meador carried a big load for Carl Albert as she led them all the way to the state title.
“I knew it was my last season here and I really wanted to win another state championship, so I just focused and worked really hard,” said Meador. “But during the season I pitched almost every day.”
And every time she did step on the mound,she left with a victory save for one lone no decision. Meador was undefeated this season taking the mound over 31 times and leaving 30 times with a victory. Carl Albert’s ace pitched a gaudy 173 innings this season striking out a ridiculous 289 batters with a .607 earned run average.
The heavy load did cause her to battle through fatigue as the year went on.
“I had problems afterwards from overuse and my hand was swelling up; luckily it was nothing too serious,” said Meador.
However, she didn’t just pitch her way to the award. Meador swings a pretty good bat as well. She also led the team in home runs with 6 and 43 runs batted in, as well as being among the team’s leader in slugging percentage while hitting for a .431 average.
“We’re always in the cages before games and after practice,” said Meador of her dedication to becoming a strong batter.
The dual-threat has been honing her craft for 13 years now after her grandpa got her into the sport and she says she’s loved it ever since.
She’ll be able to keep loving the sport after signing to play with Oklahoma City University when she graduates this spring. She chose OCU after being recruited by three schools because of familiar faces she’ll be seeing around campus and at practice.
“The pitching coach at OCU helps out my summer ball team and he worked with me a lot and always talked about how good of a school it is,” said Meador.
It’s clear the future is bright for the young pitcher even if she’s unfamiliar with Kershaw’s work.
“Yeah, I don’t know who Clayton Kershaw is,” laughed Meador after asked if she was excited to meet him.
Well, now Kershaw knows who Abby Meador is, and the rest of Oklahoma City will be getting acquainted with her very soon.
