Four years ago, Lady 'Baler catcher Amy Baxter dived and tagged out a Notre Dame base runner on a botched squeeze play. Today, Baxter, who recently graduated from Brown, is studying nursing at Penn.
Four years ago, her name graced the pages of the Free Lance for her performances in softball, volleyball and soccer.
Four years ago, Baxter was behind the plate for the Lady 'Balers softball team where she earned Tri-County Athletic League honors for San Benito, and was among the team leaders in doubles, triples and RBIs.
This past season, though, playing for the Ivy League's Brown University in Providence, R.I., Baxter earned first team All-Ivy honors after posting such high marks in batting average (.333 - tied for highest on team), games (started all 34 - tied for most on team), hits (32 - tied for most on team), runs scored (16 - most on team), home runs (2 - tied for most on team), and on-base percentage (.443 - highest on team, sixth highest in the league).
Funny how four years ago, Baxter was talking about simply earning a spot on the team.
"There were schools that called me, but I was looking for something more challenging academically," Baxter said in 2004. "When Brown called, I decided to go there. They said I could play softball, but I would have to earn my spot on the team."
A 2004 graduate from San Benito High, Baxter, who majored in human biology, certainly earned her spot on the Brown University softball team. She graduated in the spring this year, and, of course, posted high marks in the classroom as well, earning Academic All-Ivy honors this past season.
"It was pretty tough. I was in class with a lot of pre-med students, studying 24/7," said Baxter, who's already enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, where she's studying nursing. "Softball is such a huge time commitment at that level. It took me the first two years just to get used to it. After my junior year, it was definitely easier to handle, but it was like having a full-time job."
Although her full-time job on the softball field appears to be over ("My knees are pretty shot," she said), Baxter says she owes a great deal to the game.
She started playing softball when she was 8- or 9-years-old for the Hollister Heat, and eventually went on to the Salinas Storm at 14. Under the tutelage of current Lady 'Baler coach Scott Smith ("He was my coach basically since I started," she added), Baxter blossomed into an Ivy League recruit.
"It really helped me branch out," Baxter, now 22, said of softball. "I never would have thought of going to the East Coast for school. It was my career in softball that helped create it. I'm really glad I did it because you don't get the opportunity too often.
"I wasn't even looking at East Coast schools at all and I wasn't even thinking of going that far, but I'm glad I did."
Pleased with her experience at Brown - despite the culture shock of moving from California to Rhode Island - Baxter said she had to figure out how to balance the demands of playing competitively with the demands of human biology.
Simply enough, though, she says she realized school was her No. 1 priority. Considering some of her teammates were pre-med, Baxter was certainly not alone in terms of a heavy workload.
"The upperclassmen helped tutor you," she said. "They became like your family."
Now a second-degree student at Penn, Baxter plans on being a Registered Nurse in a year and a half, and then she'll continue on at the school towards her masters in nursing.
"I'm really happy with the college I went to and I think the high school did a great job preparing me with the sports program there," Baxter said.
In terms of softball, though, perhaps tutoring aspiring players as a coach is in Baxter's future, or maybe even a less-intense league, but who knows what will happen in the fall.
"Once fall starts and I talk to the girls that are still on the (Brown) team, I'm sure I'll miss it. I'll miss playing regularly.
"I pretty much finished at Brown. I might do a slow-pitch league, but nothing official."
By the numbers
Amy Baxter, a 2004 graduate at SBHS, recently wrapped four years as catcher for the Brown University softball team in Providence, Rhode Island.
2007: Baxter started and played in all 43 games; batted .257; led team with a .364 on-base percentage; connected on two home runs; was second on the team in walks with 15, second on the team in RBIs with 15, and third on the team in hits with 29.
2006: Baxter started in 42 games and played in 43 games; led the team in home runs with 6, led the team in RBIs with 24, and led the team in walks with 20.
2005: Baxter started and played in all 33 games; led the team in walks with 11, and was 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts.
Andrew Matheson Andrew Matheson is a sports writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 334 or at amatheson@svnewspapers.com.
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