Eastern’s senior pitcher Olivia Price is coming off a year where she won the Ohio Valley Conference female player of the year award and the OVC pitcher of the year award.
Price also notched a selection to the OVC first team and won the OVC Championship to help the Panthers secure a spot in the NCAA Regional Tournament.
So, I sat down and had a Q&A with Price and asked her the difficult questions, like ‘apple juice or orange juice?’ and how 2024 has been treating her so far:
Q: How has the semester been so far?
A: “So far, it’s pretty good. Nothing too hard just yet. I’m just waiting until finals honestly.”
Q: Waffles or pancakes?
A: “I prefer waffles, honestly.”
Q: Morning showers or night showers?
A: “I say night showers.”
Q: What has been the biggest factor in your growth as a player?
A: “I think my biggest factor was last year developing a changeup. That [set me] apart from the last few years. It was also a change on the scouting report, so it gave me a look to other teams.”
Q: Would you describe yourself as more of the quietly confident or outwardly confident?
A: “I would definitely say quietly confident. I’m not the verbal leader on the field most times. Most of the time I just stay to myself.”
Q: If you had to switch positions in softball, what would you play?
A: “I think I’d be an outfielder because I was an outfielder before I was a pitcher. I’m kind of cheating a little bit.”
Q: What is your favorite pitch?
A: “I like the changeup or fastball depending on what’s working that day.”
Q: How many 5th graders do you think you could strike out in a row before your arm gets too tired?
A: “Maybe twenty?”
Q: Apple juice or orange juice?”
A: “Honestly, neither. I’m not a big juice person.”
Q: Favorite game you’ve played in besides the obvious? (OVC Championship Game)
A: “Well like you said, the obvious. My favorite is the OVC Championship. I liked playing in the regional games against Northwestern and Miami (Ohio). Those were interesting being in a different setting.”
Q: Before the OVC Championship game did you know you were going to pitch a shutout?
A: “No. It’s hard to say if you know. I think it just happens when it happens because in the game anything can happen. There’s no guarantee you’ll have a perfect game or a shutout.”
Q: What does receiving awards like pitcher of the year and OVC female athlete of the year mean to you?
A: “It means a lot. It means that I’ve worked for everything I wanted. Not [necessarily] having those awards in mind, just playing throughout the year.”
Q: How did your family react to you guys winning the OVC Championship?
A: “My mom cried. She was super happy. She was really proud of me knowing that throughout the years I’ve overcome a bunch of obstacles. My dad is stoic, so he hugged me, told me good job and called it a day. Didn’t show a whole lot of emotion, but I knew he was proud of me.”
Q: Do you model your play after anybody in particular?
A: “Not necessarily. I guess I could say watching other female athletes and previous years watching the [Women’s College] World Series. Not taking after one specific person but just watching other pitchers and seeing how they handle any type of stress.”
Q: Would you say ‘6:45’ or ‘a quarter to 7’?
A: “6:45.’ I dislike greatly when people tell me ‘a quarter’ to something.
Q: Least favorite drill in practice?
A: “We don’t do many hard drills. I would say maybe fielding groundballs with tennis balls.”
Q: Favorite song currently?
A: “Champion by Kanye West.”
Q: How excited are you to start this upcoming season?
A: “I’m super excited. A little bit nervous not knowing how the season’s going to go, but I think once we get on the field and play a few games, I think everyone’s nerves will go away. I’m really excited for this year.”
Eastern softball is back in action Feb. 9, and conference play begins March 9.
Maurice Phipps can be reached at 581-2812 or at densportsdesk@gmail.com.
