'Let's go for it': Former softball player Josie Stevenson does it all for Burris baseball

MUNCIE, Ind. — "Hey, number one, you did amazing," a girl yelled as she leaned over the fence separating Muncie Central's baseball field and the parking lot.

Among the Muncie Burris baseball players running sprints postgame, Josie Stevenson, who donned the No. 1 blue jersey for the Owls, looked back. The unsolicited comment from a complete stranger brought a quick smile to Stevenson's face before she turned around, lined up and continued running alongside her teammates.

This is Stevenson's first year playing varsity baseball. It's her first year playing baseball — ever — after her debut was delayed last season due to COVID-19 canceling spring sports throughout Indiana and the rest of the country.

Unlike some girls who grew up playing on youth baseball teams before transitioning to softball, Stevenson had been a softball player her whole life. She started playing when she was 5 and, after taking a year off to swim during her freshman year at Mount Vernon, played at Shenandoah as a sophomore.

As a junior, Stevenson came to the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics and Humanities, whose students compete for Muncie Burris in IHSAA athletics. Problem was, Burris didn't have a softball team. So if Stevenson wanted to play on a diamond, it would have to be on the baseball field.

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"I was like, 'That sounds a little challenging, a little scary and definitely intimidating,' " Stevenson said. "But, I'm always willing to take on a challenge, so I was like, 'Let's go for it.' "

And go for it she did.

When Stevenson came out for the team as a junior, head coach Nathan Bailey quickly learned that she wasn't just going to be on the team. No, he knew she was going to be an everyday starter in Burris' lineup one way or another.

"When she came out last year for us we knew pretty soon that she was going to probably be in the starting rotation," Bailey said. "She started out as a catcher last year and so she was going to probably be a backup catcher and probably play some outfield. This year, she’s fit in really well in the outfield and we’ve been toying with her pitching a little bit in JV and those kind of games."

Stevenson quickly realized how "completely different," softball and baseball are despite their many similarities. She laughed while talking about how she had to adjust her grip on a much smaller ball, learn a different throwing technique and get used to a heavier bat and different hitting style.

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In a way, not playing last year gave Stevenson plenty of time to adjust to her new sport This year, she's proving that she belongs.

Playing against Muncie Central Tuesday night, Stevenson started in left field and batted sixth in the Owls' lineup. In the bottom of the fourth inning, with Burris down 6-1 with one out and two Central runners on base, Stevenson came in to pitch.

The night before, against Anderson Prep, she made her varsity pitching debut. She only threw to one batter, but got the out.

"She does her job," Bailey said. And with Burris' pitchers struggling to find the strike zone against Central, Bailey turned to someone he felt confident could get the job done.

Two runners ended up scoring on a ground ball and stolen base in the fourth, but Stevenson ended the inning with back-to-back strikeouts. Over the next two innings, she continued to find the strike zone, holding Central to two runs while recording two more strikeouts. In the top of the seventh, after lining out and popping out in her last two plate appearances, Stevenson got a base hit to right field.

Central went on to win the game, its first victory of the year, 10-6, but Stevenson — someone who hadn't even thrown a baseball until she was junior in high school — made her impact known.

"She’s been a great piece," Bailey said. "(We) got her last year and she’s one of the people that has been a leader on this team. She’s a do-everything; she’s a perfectionist and she will work until she gets it done right. So, we really appreciate her and the great encouragement she has. .... I hope she inspires the next group of girls coming up."

According to Statista, out of the 482,740 high school baseball players who competed during the 2018-19 season, just 1,284 of them were girls. In 2017-18, that number was at 1,762, up from less than 1,000 in the years prior to 2012-13.

Trying to find how many of them start and succeed like Stevenson is is harder to figure out.

What's not hard to figure out is how much Stevenson means to the Owls. After striking out the third and fourth varsity batters she'd ever faced, Stevenson was met with fist-bumps and cheers from her teammates in the dugout.

"The mentality that I had coming in was I'm going to prove myself to these guys and I'm going to do everything I can to be successful," Stevenson said. "It was lovely coming into the Academy, as well, because it's the same exact mindset I had for my academic. It was come in, let's do this, let's prove ourselves and let's succeed."

Halfway through her first varsity baseball season, Stevenson has done just that.

Robby General covers East Central Indiana high school sports for The Star Press. Contact him via email at rgeneral@gannett.com, on Twitter @rgeneraljr or phone at 765-283-8864.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Former softball player is a big hit on Muncie Burris' baseball team