Seymour senior leader for Owls

March 31, 2018

For The Tribune

Tori Snook said playing travel softball, beginning on 10-and-under teams, has definitely helped her become a better high school player.

“I’ve always played up an age group,” the Seymour senior said. “Since I was 14, I’ve been playing with 18-year-olds, so I’ve been playing at the high school level.”

She has played a lot of ball with teams from Columbus and Brownstown.

This is her second year starting in left field for the Owls, and she said she believes communication is important, especially on high fly balls.

Snook said you have to pay attention to the opposing batter. If she is a slap hitter or a power hitter and if she is right-handed or left-handed will make a difference on how the ball comes toward you, she said.

“You can tell by their size and stuff,” Snook said. “I enjoy talking with the outfielders. (Communication) is really key to make sure nobody gets hurt and we don’t drop balls. It’s making sure we don’t make mistakes. One error can change the whole game.”

Snook enjoys batting in the leadoff position.

“I’m kind of small, so I’m more of just a base hit hitter,” Snook said. “I’m starting off the team. Since I’m leadoff, I need to be able to read the pitcher very quickly. A lot of it is first-pitch strikes. In high school, if it’s a good pitcher and she gets one strike on you, then you’re behind. I like pitches inside and kind of low. That’s my favorite. I like to hit away.”

The Owls won 18 games last season, and Snook said she feels like the team can reach that win total again.

“I think we’re going to have a good team,” Snook said. “We’re going to have to work on our batting and stringing together hits. We’re just going to have to work on playing together because we have a whole new infield.”

The three seniors on the team are team captains.

“We just make sure that everybody is doing what they’re supposed to be doing (in practice),” Snook said. “We may give them pointers on what they can do during practice to make them better for games and stuff like that.”

Practice is very important, especially in softball, she said.

“Hitting takes perfection, so you have to have a lot of repetitiveness,” she said. “When we’re in the barn, it’s usually coach pitching or hitting off the tees. Occasionally, we’ll hit off our pitchers.”

Snook enjoys playing at home.

“I really like our field and dugouts,” Snook said. “Recently, we’ve been getting a lot more fans to come to our games, too. I like the night games.”

This is the second season for Snook to play with her sister, Kate, who started at third base in the Owls’ opening game.

“I actually think it’s pretty fun to play with her,” Tori said. “We usually get along pretty well, so we are always picking each other up and picking on each other, sometimes for fun. It just makes it more interesting.

“We communicate where batters are hitting. Sometimes, we even communicate what the pitcher is throwing so we can be ready for it when the next people go up to bat.”

Tori said she has enjoyed attending Seymour.

“I love it here,” she said. “I just think we have special bonds here.”

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Snook file” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Name: Victoria Snook

School: Seymour High School

Parents: Pam Snook-Tidd, John Snook

Siblings: Kate, Xander

Sports: Softball, four years; basketball, one year

Athletic honors: All-county, Hoosier Hills Conferene honorable mention

Organizations: National Honor Society, Riley Dance Marathon, DARE role model, student government

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