Bladen County eighth grade softball player has Major League dreams

Clarkton, NC (WECT) - Clarkton School of Discovery eighth grader Shy Ratliff plays softball but her true love is baseball.

Ratliff first picked up a baseball at age of 5 and is one of 96 girls in the US selected to take part in Major League Baseball’s Trailblazer Series April 11-14 at the MLB Youth Academy in Compton, Calif.

The Trailblazer Series provides elite baseball training from current and former USA Baseball Women’s National Team players.

“She’ll leave our (softball) practice for baseball practice or she’ll play in a tournament on the weekends,” said Clarkton softball coach Jordan Raynor. “It doesn’t seem to mess her up any. She does like baseball better.”

Ratliff plays for the Carolina Elite travel baseball team and works with coach Ray Johnson whenever she has time.

“We work a lot,” said Ratliff. “We work almost every weekend.”

On the baseball diamond, she’s a pitcher but can play pretty much any position in softball.

“She’s just a natural athlete,” Raynor said of Ratliff. “She’s adjusted well. She’s really good at every position on the field. She’s our cleanup batter and you can tell that she has natural talent.”

Baseball and softball might look similar, but the games are not the same.

“It’s a big difference,” said Raynor. “The speed is different; the ball size is different. You can’t get a lead like you can in baseball. There is a lot of difference.”

Ratliff says her favorite player is Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, and she dreams of becoming the first female to play in the major leagues.

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