Bedford's Ava Ratliff's knocks it out of the park with multiple national awards

Ava Ratliff bore down on the task at hand, and one could almost sense the outfield fence let out a shudder.

It was a summertime open hitting session for the Bedford North Lawrence softball team. Ratliff, BNL's freshman wunderkind catcher, unleashed four consecutive home runs and then a fifth laser that smashed the top rail in left, confirming the fence's fear.

After that impressive softball barrage, even the pitching machine threw up four fingers and asked to intentionally walk the kid. She has unprecedented power _ at the plate and in her right arm when she's behind hit _ in that compact frame, and it is being recognized and honored at the highest levels.

Ratliff is experiencing a summer of love and appreciation for her effort and ability, and she has earned three illustrious national honors after blasting school single-season records of 21 home runs, 53 RBIs and 50 hits while batting .538 with a .607 on-base percentage, a 1.344 slugging percentage and 1.951 OPS. By the way, she also had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage at catcher.

Ratliff knocking awards season out of park

The softball since has long since ended for the Bedford North Lawrence softball team, but Ratliff is still knocking it out of the park, figuratively and literally.

Ratliff has ripped 10 home runs already this summer for her elite travel team, Beverly Bandits Moran 14U, but the biggest hits she's gotten are off the field.

First off, she was named the Freshman of the Year in the entire nation by MaxPreps, and next came her selection as a First Team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Thursday night it culminated with the highlight award, hence the big group that was gathered at the BNL Softball Complex to watch Ratliff hit and await the surprise announcement from BNL head coach Brad Gilbert.

Ava Ratliff is the 2022 NFCA Diamond Sports National Catcher of the Year. This small-but-mighty 14-year old has been recognized as the absolute best backstop at the high school level in the entire United States.

When Gilbert issued his proclamation, Ratliff's face turned as red as the icing on the celebratory cake that awaited she, the rest of the BNL players, and the guests who were in on the surprise.

"It's not embarrassing," Ratliff insisted as her color recovered from deep red to pink. "But it's a lot of attention right on me all of a sudden, so it's a little awkward. But it means a lot to me. It's a big honor and a big surprise.

"I saw a few people standing around, but I figured they were just maybe going to hand out team awards for the season or something after we finished hitting. Then I saw my whole family walk around the corner and I thought, 'What are they doing here?' So that was a little suspicious, but I still had no idea. They definitely surprised me."

Gilbert not surprised by accolades

Gilbert is not surprised by the numerous illustrious awards after having a front-row seat for the 2022 season in which Ratliff led the Stars to a 28-3 record and their second consecutive semistate appearance.

"I had the luxury of standing in the third-base coaching box for her at-bats, and she is just so smooth and hits the ball so hard," he said. "It's a beautiful swing and it's so smooth sometimes that she hits those screaming line drives that are so straight they catch the fence, or else she'd have even more home runs.

"And she also has a cannon for an arm and has a good relationship with our pitchers, which was a concern because Sarah (Stone, who set the previous single-season home run mark of 17 in 2021) was a great, great catcher who developed a rapport with umpires, communicated so well with the pitchers and her fielders and just took control.

"But Ava stepped right in and we didn't really miss a beat. And I think we'll be able to do more defensively next year, like throwing behind runners and things, because she'll be a little more settled in as a sophomore."

Gilbert didn't even attempt to downplay the National Catcher of the Year Award.

"It's a big deal, the really big deal," he assessed. "The neat thing is that Sarah got First-Team All-American last year, and she was runner-up for this award as catcher of the year. So I'm getting emails asking me what 's going on with these catchers down here at BNL.

"It means she's going to start getting so much attention from college coaches. She's obviously alread on everybody's radar, but once they're allowed to contact her (starting between the sophomore and junior seasons) it's going to roll in. It also means probably at least 10 more intentional walks a season, but we just have to make sure we hit in front of her and behind her so people can't afford to walk her.

"But it really is good for our program, and the thing is Ava is such a great teammate and a really sweet kid, so this stuff will never go to her head."

Ratliff to remain all business on field

Ratliff lives and breathes for softball, but she's also a fun-loving kid with a huge, every-ready smile. She and teammates Tori Nikirk and Anna Williams broke out some pretty nifty impromptu dance moves Thursday night and giggled like the school-girls-at-heart they are.

When she steps across the line, however, Ratliff is a competitive, all-business ballplayer who is ready to wreak havoc on the opposition. That will not change in light of any awards, which she happily shares with her teammates. Another thing will not change is the work ethic that has helped lift her to these heights.

"Winning is my whole focus and it has always been that way," Ratliff said. "I mean, we have fun playing the game and I love it, but we always want to win the game. So I'm just going to go out and play the game the way I do and let everything else take care of itself.

"I think all of the awards are exciting, and probably this last one is a little better, but they've come about because I've put in a lot of hard work. I still can work harder and try to improve because you can always get better in some way. But I don't think about awards when I play, and besides softball is not a one-person game and my teammates helped me get any awards I've gotten."

A humble hitter

Ratliff will also remain a humble, appreciative player despite the three national awards and a multitude of All-State, All-District and All-HHC honors after her initial season. One gets the impression that the young lady will simply keep hitting, smiling and dancing no matter how many, or few, awards roll her way. Happiness is a day on the diamond.

"I love the game of softball, but I don't like bragging on myself at all or all of that kind of attention. I enjoy playing and my teammates and coaches make it fun. So I'm going to stay humble, try to get better, and I don't want to get a big head or be too cocky or anything.

"Obviously, you want a little confidence, but not too much."

Contact Times-Mail Sports Writer Jeff Bartlett at jeffb@tmnews.com, or on Twitter @jeffbtmnews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Times-Mail: Bedford's Ava Ratliff's knocks it out of the park with national awards