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South Laurel (London, Ky.) senior Emily Gaines had hit safely in close to 40 consecutive softball games before being made aware that she was approaching a state record.

“When I found out, it definitely put a lot of pressure on me and I got really nervous,” she admitted.

The Kentucky record was 43. On both the night she tied the record and the night she broke it, she collected her only hit during her final at-bat. She continued the streak until it reached 52 – the second-longest in high school history. It included the last 12 games of her junior year.

You could call her high school softball’s version of Garrett Wittels, the Florida International sophomore who has hit safely in 56 straight games. That matched the Major League record held by the great Joe DiMaggio and is two short of the NCAA record (58), which is held by Robin Ventura of Oklahoma State. His season is over, however, so he’ll have to wait until next year to continue the streak.

Gaines’ streak finally ended during an 8-2 playoff victory over Knox Central. She drew three walks and popped out to the second baseman in four trips to the plate. It marked the second playoff game in which she had been given three walks as opponents constantly pitched around her.

“It was kind of sad,” she said of the streak’s end. “But knowing that we were still going to the (region) championship game made it a little easier.”

The national record is 73 by Kayla Braud of Marist (Eugene, Ore.) from 2006-2008.

Gaines called her tremendous streak “a big surprise. It feels really good. All that hard work paid off.”

She credits her father, Scott Gaines, a former high school baseball coach, with “teaching me everything I know.”

“I never really dreamt that she would be as good as she is," Scott Gaines said. "She wasn’t very big and always had to bunt because she wasn’t really strong enough to hit the ball through the infield. At age 12 she began getting stronger and just gets better and better.”

“She’s going to rank as the best player our school has ever had," South Laurel coach Kaye Smith said. "I hope young kids learned a lot just from watching her. She is a great role model. She loves the sport and her future is very bright.”

The 5-foot-10 pitcher/shortstop led the Cardinals to a 34-7 record this spring and after five varsity campaigns now holds six state records. The single-season marks are for most hits (83), doubles (27) and she tied a record by belting home runs in five consecutive games. Her 17 home runs are No. 2 in Kentucky history, while her .634 batting average is No. 3.

Gaines’ career records are for most doubles (104), hits (349) and hitting streak (52 games). She also ranks No. 4 with a .525 batting average, 200 RBI, 24 home runs and 241 runs.

In addition, she was the Cardinals’ No. 1 pitcher the last couple years. This spring she compiled a 19-2 record with a 0.68 earned run average. In 113 1/3 innings, she allowed 62 hits, 21 walks and struck out 94. Her career record was 66-9 with 454 strikeouts and a 1.04 ERA in 443 2/2 innings.

Gaines, who also was a standout volleyball player, carved out a 4.0 GPA and has signed with the University of Kentucky where she is expected to play a major role as a freshman.

http://www.maxpreps.com/news/-FXlRHJ6Ed-...ittels.htm