STAYING HOME: Teutopolis' Emily Konkel to continue softball career at Eastern Illinois
Nov. 14—Emily Konkel is soon-to-be one of five new Eastern Illinois University softball players.
The Teutopolis senior shortstop signed her National Letter of Intent to continue playing softball for the Panthers at Teutopolis High School on Friday morning.
"It's cool," Konkel said. "The goal has always been to play at Division-I, so it's pretty cool to reach that. I'm excited to get started.
"Softball has always been my favorite sport, and I knew that if I wanted to continue playing after high school, it would be with softball."
Why Eastern, though?
Konkel said the decision was simple.
"I liked the idea that they were close to home," Konkel said. "It's 40 minutes from my house to the softball field, so it will be easy to come home whenever I want, and I loved the coaches."
Tara Archibald is the head coach of the Eastern softball team and will begin her fourth season in 2023. She is currently 77-98 and 31-47 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
"She's very positive," said Konkel of Archibald. "Everything she says has a positive spin on everything, and I like that about her."
As for Archibald, when discussing Konkel, she said in a press release, "Emily is an outstanding multi-sport athlete, and we are extremely excited she chose to stay home. Emily plays with incredible athleticism and speed, allowing her to play nearly any position on the field."
Teutopolis head coach Crystal Tipton added, "Emily is an easy player to coach; she has a can-do attitude and is a team player in every aspect of the game, both on and off the field.
"She is one of many great leaders on this team and goes out of her way to ensure that younger players are included and learning along the way. She is positive and has an excellent work ethic — all done with a smile on her face."
Those smiles were justified, too.
Konkel finished her junior season with the Lady Shoes batting .402 with a .471 on-base percentage, a .750 slugging percentage, and a 1.221 on-base-plus-slugging percentage with 37 hits, six doubles, four triples, six home runs, 22 RBIs, and 38 runs in 28 games.
Her successful campaign earned her a spot on the Illinois Softball Coaches Association Class 2A All-State Third Team and an Effingham Daily News All-Area Third Team selection.
Although the numbers that Konkel posted are great, what she truly desires is something the program hasn't seen since the 2019 season.
"As a team, I want to win a regional," Konkel said. "We haven't done that yet in my career."
Contact EDN Sports Editor Alex Wallner at 618-510-9231 or alex.wallner@effinghamdailynews.com.
