Sydney Sherrill has had many opportunities to play school softball closer to home in Oklahoma.
The Moore, Oklahoma, location first got engaged in Arkansas, about 3. 5 hours from his home. It attracted interest from the state of Oklahoma, an hour north of Moore in Stillwater, and Tulsa, about 90 minutes away. He was presented with an assembly in Oklahoma, a 15-minute drive from his home in Norman.
However, despite the opportunities, Sherrill sought to pass where she felt comfortable.
And, in this case, the comfort located at 3 p. m. and 1,000 miles from his home in Tallahassee with the Florida State Seminoles.
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What began with Sherrill’s leap of religion will end this summer as one of the most significant careers in FSU softball history after five years and 270 games and more.
“I am very grateful. On the one hand, my good fortune and the good fortune of my team showed gratitude for the jump. I’m just thankful that I left my zone of convenience, that I went at 3 p. m. m. (outside) and having relied on training and this program to take care of me and make me grow,” Sherrill said.
“They did an impressive job. I’m very, very proud of the program and who I’ve become. I am very grateful to the training and the FSU network that I have been paid as a user and as a player. “
This week’s two-game series at JoAnne Graf Field between No. 4 FSU (four3-5, 16-5 in the ACC) and No. 6 Oklahoma State (38-7, 1 quarter-1 in the Big 12) gives a Sherrill touch to space toward the end of his mythical career.
Sherrill wasn’t even in eighth grade when he signed with Arkansas.
She FSU her favorite after meeting with assistant coaches Craig Snyder (now in Texas A).
“We called Coach Wilson, Coach Snyder and (FSU Head Coach Lonni) Alameda and Sydney had to tell them, and they were upset,” Michelle Sherrill, Sydney’s mother, told Democrat.
“Coacha (Alameda) just said, ‘Sydney, it’s going to be an absolutely different user until then. You’re going to have an absolutely different organization of friends. We will stand firm. I wish you the best of luck. “. ‘”
Alameda’s recommendation turned out to be correct. Sherrill’s teammates had become committed to Arkansas and gradually gave up their commitments, and there was a coaching change within the program. All of this led Sherrill to make the decision to reopen his draft in his freshman year in high school, thinking again of the Seminoles.
Fsu’s training staff had not kept in touch with Sherrill and his family, but remained in the background, knowing that there was a possibility that their recruitment was not yet complete.
“When she retired from Arkansas, Coach Alameda said, ‘We still need you, but we need you to move on to other schools, do the visits and have that experience. We need you to see what’s going on and if you need to see, we’re going to communicate about it,” Michelle Sherrill said.
The Sherrills did, visited Oklahoma and Tulsa. Both systems had their benefits and were in the state, but neither had disadvantages that cannot be overlooked. .
The state of Oklahoma also tried to get involved in his recruitment, but Sherrill wouldn’t let that happen. At the time, Sydney was heading half the country to FSU.
“The most important thing that made us decide on Florida State was the fact that they had built this relationship. I think Sydney felt like they cared about her and were looking for her,” Michelle Sherrill said.
“They were interested in her as a person, not just as an athlete. They would write him letters, do anything to make him think, ‘Oh my God, they love me. ‘They are authentic. I think that’s it. “
In his first season at FSU, Sherrill’s effect on the box was remarkable.
As a true freshman in 2018, Sherrill recorded 29 doubles, 10 more than any player in a season in the program’s history, with a batting average of Array370 and a batting percentage of Array676. Along with Jessie Warren, she is the biggest impact hitter at FSU. list of that season.
Playing at the U. S. Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. he played a key role in the Seminoles’ victory in the first NCAA championship in the program’s history.
The Seminoles’ 2019 season ended in surprising fashion with a Super Regional home loss to the state of Oklahoma, lacking other WCWS and the 2020 season was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.
But Sherrill was able to return home to Oklahoma City last year when the Seminoles disappointed LSU on the way back to WCWS. Similar to 2018Array FSU raced to the Championship Series after wasting its first match, winning five in a row.
This time, however, the race was just before FSU lost to seed No. 1 and Oklahoma’s local favorite in the best-of-three championship series.
“She was looking to win a national championship. I think he had an idea along the way, but I don’t think it really made sense until he was given here and did. She has to do it in front of all her family, all her friends and it was a position she was comfortable in because she had played it several times. I think it’s a full circle for her,” Michelle Sherrill said.
“Coming back, it was like the icing on the cake. Obviously, they didn’t win, but they played very well in Oklahoma. I think it meant a lot to her to be able to compete with the school that’s in her kindergarten and that’s such a successful program. It’s great for her to play them.
Before his career came to an end, Sherrill’s influence on FSU’s softball logbook was palpable.
The 77 doubles of his career are 19 more than any player in ACC history and 26 more than the closest Seminole. She is 3rd in FSU history in RBI (198) and runs (212), moment in bases on balls (174), fourth in circuits (37) and 9th in hits (268).
He has made an impression in 270 games, 11 on the FSU record set by Kristy Hull from 1995 to 1998, and is expected to have sole ownership of that record until his career ends with six normal season games and the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Let’s go.
Alameda has noticed that Sherrill has an effect on the box and the progress he has made in softball for years. But he was even more inspired by how Sherrill grew out of the box.
“I Syd came off the charts in terms of skills and is leaving this season in terms of character,” Alameda said of Sherrill.
“It’s one thing when you get into a show and start playing the game, but your character starts to manifest the two, three, 4 years you’ve been here. Your leadership talents, how you give to the program, and how you continue to be informed and build yourself. His leadership and captaincy talents are out of the ordinary. She was amazing. . .
“Behind the scenes right now, she is lifting the game of the total team. Really proud of her expansion as a person. “
Michelle Sherrill fully agrees with Alameda’s assessment. While they would have liked to keep their daughter close during her school career, their joint resolve to let Sydney stay at their center was validated through how satisfied her time at Tallahassee flourished.
“The responsibility, the confidence, the ability to speak, the overall package. She’s become that woman and it’s like, ‘Wow, you were just a girl, it looks like it was yesterday,'” Michelle Sherrill said.
“I don’t forget his freshman year, he told me he didn’t like having to let go and sign autographs. I asked him why and he said, ‘I just don’t realize what the challenge is. Why do they love me so much?’ Now it’s as if he approaches them, hugging those children, pointing to them autographs. She loves it. He said: “It’s amazing for me to see how much they appreciate me. I’m like a role model. ” Now perceive . She senses how far she has come. “
Tallahassee and FSU may have been Sherrill’s home in recent years, but she still considers Oklahoma her home.
When FSU players were going to put nicknames on the back of their jerseys for the players’ weekend before this month as opposed to Virginia Tech, Sherrill chose to make their home, opting for “Oklahoma” as the nickname of choice.
“That’s where I come from. Very proud to be from there. My total circle of relatives is there,” Sherrill said.
In recent years, FSU and its local state merged to create some of the moments of her life in the Women’s College World Series.
He had the joy of a national championship there and the sorrow of missing a game last year.
Although she is very proud to be from there, there was also another, more FSU-focused explanation of why she chose her nickname.
“This is where I need to finish my final season. I’m getting ahead of this race,” Sherrill said.
“Take one game at a time, focusing on this week now, however Oklahoma (WCWS) is definitely the ultimate goal and that’s where I need to take this team. “
When: Thursday, 7 p. m. ; Friday, 18:00
Where: JoAnne Graf Field
Television: ESPN2 (Thursday); ESPNU (Friday)
Contact Curt Weiler on cweiler@tallahassee. com or twitter @CurtMWeiler.
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