Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Ellis' senior softball season was worth the wait
5/14/2019 11:14:00 PM | Softball, Word on the Herd
Marshall catcher won 2019 Warrior Award, earned all-conference honors
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Hayden Ellis admits there were days during her first three years on campus in which she struggled with her softball fate.
"There were a lot of tears," she confessed.
Turns out, the final chapter for the Marshall University senior catcher was worth the wait. The native of Ashville, Ohio, who played three seasons behind all-conference catcher Taylor McCord, has made the most of her season as the primary starter behind the plate.
"Her story is a great one," Marshall coach Megan Smith said. "Someone who had to sit; had some injuries; didn't have quite the start of her career that she wanted. Now she gets the opportunity this year to end it like she's done. She's a great kid with great character and has worked extremely hard. She's a great leader for us."
Ellis' final season with the Thundering Herd has been prolonged because Marshall reached postseason play. The Herd plays George Washington on Thursday at 1 p.m. in the opening round of the National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC). The 19-team event has four regions, and Marshall will play this Thursday through Saturday in Lynchburg, Virginia.
The Herd carries a 39-20 record into the event, and Ellis has seen action in 57 of 59 games (with 53 starts). In her first three seasons with the program, Ellis recorded 120 at-bats and hit .150 with one home run and eight RBIs.
This season, the 5-foot-6 backstop has 26 hits – eight more than she had in the previous three seasons combined – and connected on six homers with 25 RBIs.
"I was behind a stud catcher who is in the record books here," Ellis said of McCord, who was a Conference USA all-conference first team selection in 2016, '17 and '18. "Taylor is a great person and was a great teammate. Looking back, it helped me more than it hurt me because I got to learn from her and see what kind of leader she was."
Ellis more than held her own in replacing McCord. This month, Ellis was named a C-USA all-conference second team selection. In April, Ellis had a banner day at the plate – 3-for-6 with three home runs and seven RBIs in a doubleheader split with Louisiana Tech. A day later, Ellis was presented with the 2019 Warrior Award on Emileigh Cooper Day.
Ellis had patiently waited for her turn. She'd battled back from a season-ending shoulder injury a season ago. And she played with a passion and purpose that helped ignite a 14-win turnaround – and counting – for the Herd softball program.
"This is the last time I'm going to get to do this," Ellis said. "We have that energy everywhere on the team. Abigail Tolbert, in the circle, she's so intense and it's hard not to have the same energy. If you look around the infield, you'll see the same thing. If you want to be great you have to get excited over the small things, not just the big things."
Now, Ellis and her Marshall teammates can continue to add to the team's win total. Ellis wants to teach in middle school or high school and, as catchers are wont to do, has an eye on coaching in the future. She has played softball since she was 6 years old, and has no plans to walk away from the sport anytime soon.
"I came to a camp here in the eighth grade and fell in love with Marshall," Ellis said. "You fall in love with the community and the people."
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a seven-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
