Prep Athlete of the Week: Emma Kimberling, Cheyenne Extreme

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) - The Cheyenne Extreme softball team hosted a tournament last weekend as the summer season ramps up, and the 18U team pulled off a clean sweep of competition with a 3-0 record.

Emma Kimberling woke up feeling dangerous on Saturday; she went deep twice-- including a grand slam-- in their final game of the day. Kimberling said the offensive explosion was a product of some technical adjustments to her swing, plate discipline, and being able to rise to the occasion.

”I’ve just been tweaking the little things, and just working on my swing. So that really helped me in the box. And then I think it was a matter of pitch selection-- and not timing of the pitch-- but timing of the game. Like timely hits. For the grand slam, I just knew ‘Ok, I had to get a hit. Now’s the time. I have to put the ball in play.’ Then for my other hits I was just hitting strikes that I knew I could hit well,” Kimberling said.

Kimberling went 3-6 throughout the tournament while driving in six runs and scoring three herself, and this is all on a brand new team for her. She’s from Gillette, won two state championships with Thunder Basin, and was a two time All-State selection there as well. So why play for a Cheyenne based team? She said that several of the girls on her old travel team aged out of eligibility, so her familiarity with the Cheyenne Extreme players and coach Adam Galicia was a big factor for her wanting to play in the capital city.

”It’s a super good relationship that we have. I mean this is my first time actually playing with them, and it was just an instant click with them. I’ve been playing against them since we were little, and so we just know each other well and we get along good,” Kimberling said.

After Kimberling finishes up her summer season, she will head to North Dakota to play college softball for the University of Mary.

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