Scott is leader of the ‘Cat pack

Updated: June 20, 2011 2:38PM

Sometimes the Most Valuable Player doesn’t have all the top statistics on her own team.

But she is still the MVP.

That is the case for Plainfield Central senior Olivia Scott, who is The Herald-News Softball Player of the Year. Two Wildcats teammates also are first-team All-Area selections and had higher batting averages.

But few in the area had the other numbers Scott had or the resume of being a four-year starter on a perennial power such as Plainfield Central.

For that, Scott, who was Player of the Year in the Southwest Prairie Conference as well, gets the nod for H-N Player of the Year.

“I was very surprised and very excited,” Scott said of receiving both honors. “It’s great and means a lot. I’m happy to represent the school in that way.”

The leadership aspect is something that Scott took upon herself after seeing her older teammates in action during her freshman season, when she was a starter in the outfield.

“I like to think that I lead more by my actions than anything,” she said. “When I was a freshman, I looked up to Stephanie Kirkpatrick (a 2008 Central graduate who was Player of the Year in the Chicago papers and now plays at the University of Michigan). I saw her dedication on the field and also to her schoolwork. So I definitely wanted to be a role model to the other players and show that same dedication.”

Veteran Central coach Anne Campbell certainly saw that from Scott.

“As a four-year starter, Olivia brought a lot of experience to the team this year,” Campbell said. “She has improved every year offensively, which has been a great example for the younger players to see what hard work will do.

“She was the heart of the team. The players looked up to Olivia and she was a great team player, doing whatever you ask her to do for the team. She received Plainfield Central sportsmanship award for all athletes this year, which speaks volumes for her character.

“At shortstop, she was very consistent. We will definitely miss Olivia’s presence next year.”

Scott’s final 2011 stats included a .390 batting average. She tied for the team lead with 37 runs and had five doubles and 31 RBI. She also had something else — 11 home runs.

That was a new Wildcats season record and came on the heels of nine round-trippers the previous season. The 20 homers also are a Central record.

“It’s kind of weird that I didn’t hit any homers in my first two years but then hit 20 in the last two years,” Scott said. “But after my sophomore year, I put more time in hitting practice and everything helped.”

In her final high school game, a 7-2 loss to Benet in the regional title game, Scott ended her career with a bang. In her last high school at-bat, she slugged a home run over the center-field fence in the bottom of the sixth.

“That’s something I’ll remember forever,” she said. “We lost in the regionals to Benet (the game was tied at 1-1 in the fifth) and they went on to get third (in Class 4A) in the state.”

One of her favorite memories is freshman season, when Central won the regional title before suffering a 2-0 extra-inning loss to Naperville Central in the sectional semifinal. The Wildcats lost in the regional title game the last three seasons. They finished 24-9 this season and were 96-28 in the four years that Scott played.

“Yes, I loved freshman year,” she said. “But I also loved the ‘pink games’ where we raised money for breast cancer research.”

After playing right field her freshman and sophomore seasons, Scott moved to shortstop the past two seasons. She looks forward to playing that position or second base at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis.

“I’m definitely an infielder and I’ll play middle infield in college,” she said. “But I loved playing at Plainfield Central. Coach Campbell is a great coach and did a great job keeping the team together.

“I knew how much it meant to play here. I played hard and I tried to learn from each game. I had the best times with my teammates, both on and off the field. It’s been great.”

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.