HARDIN - Almost since she picked up the ball as a young girl and started playing softball, Calhoun pitcher Grace Baalman aspired to play at a Division I school.
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This week, the 6-foot-2 Calhoun junior star athlete made a verbal commitment to play softball at the University of Kentucky.
Calhoun County has the nearby Illinois River, the bluffs and a lot of surrounding countryside and unlike many universities in the United States, the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., has that same kind of feel, Grace told RiverBender.com.
“I feel really great and have no regrets about my decision; this is the college I want to go to,” she said. “I like the coach, the school and it is kind of a country atmosphere, it is not in the city. I feel like it is the right fit.”
Grace had been pursued as a top college softball recruit throughout the United States, so the decision relieves some pressure going into her junior year.
The Calhoun athlete said she was impressed with the coach and the softball program at the University of Kentucky.
“Kentucky has a great athletic tradition,” she said. “I watched a basketball game on a visit and there was an amazing atmosphere there and the fans were so supportive. I have watched some of their softball games on TV and the place is packed.”
For Grace, being a softball pitcher came naturally with her older sister, Maddie, being such an inspiration for her. Maddie is on a softball scholarship at St. Louis University. Maddie will be a sophomore at St. Louis University and her father, Matt Baalman, said he expects her to have a good season in 2016 after a strong year in 2015.
Matt Baalman, said he and his wife couldn’t be more proud of their daughter for her achievement of earning a college scholarship. Matt also is the head coach of the girls’ softball team.
“Grace does a good job,” Matt Baalman said. “She has worked to get where she is. She has the right body type to be a dominant pitcher and that helps. She also does a lot of training and workouts at Calhoun Crunch and Nate Sagez. Grace’s size at 6-2 and build sure helps her as a pitcher. She is deserving of this opportunity.”
The University of Kentucky plays in the Southeastern Conference and it is very competitive, Matt Baalman said. Matt knows Grace was a prospect to play volleyball and basketball at the Division I level, but he believes playing a second sport would be too much in college.
Matt Baalman said both of his daughters are good with keeping focused when they are on the mound pitching.
“Both of my daughters work with the mental side just as much as they do the physical side,” he said. “I always tell them don’t show the opponent you are nervous or rattled on the inside. Being composed on the mound is very important.”
In recent years, Matt Baalman spent time traveling the country during the summer with his daughters as they played for different top softball teams in the U.S. He said that experience was bonding for his family and something he would never forget.
The University of Kentucky followed her in several of her summer appearances. Softball is Grace's passion and she said she couldn’t wait to grace the high school field next March.
“Our goal will be to win the state championship again in softball,” she said. “We got a taste of it and want to do it again.”
For now she will settle back into her row as a front row player for the Calhoun girls volleyball team. The team enters the season with coach Ann Gilman with high expectations. She said she loves all her volleyball team members and they all get along together.
“Volleyball is a definite team sport,” she said. “Our volleyball girls play so well as a team.”
Overall, Grace said she is glad she no longer has to ponder where she will attend college.
“Mentally, it was hard on me because there were so many decisions I had to make, but now I am relaxed and it feels great,” she said. “The scholarship makes such a difference for me going to college.”
