BATTLE CREEK – Whatever else happens, the fact that Kennedy Halverson is the home run queen at Harper Creek will probably always put a smile on her face.
Beaming, she explained the feeling.
“I love being the home run leader at this school. I’ve always wanted to leave a legacy at this school and that’s quite a legacy,” Halverson said.
Halverson is one of the top softball players in the area and the shortstop has led Harper Creek to a standout season so far in her senior year. Signed to play Division 1 softball at the next level at Western Michigan University, Halverson is indeed the career home run leader for the Beavers. But she is much more than that as well.
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“She has put up the numbers. But the thing that makes her a great player is all the hard work she puts into the sport. Her dedication and hard work is what makes her a special player,” said first-year Harper Creek softball coach Sarah Palmer. “Before practice, after practice, she is putting in the extra work. All those extra reps just creates a special player.”
Halverson has the school record for career home runs at Harper Creek with 27. Her breakout season was her sophomore year when she set the school record for home runs in a single season with 13.
“I only had two home runs my freshman year and I wasn’t thinking I was too much of a power hitter. Then, my sophomore year, I started barreling up the ball and the home runs started to come,” Halverson said. “Once the home runs start to come, that builds confidence. You see the ball bigger once you have that confidence and you start hitting them out.”
Already a three-time all-city and all-league selection and two-time team MVP, Halverson has put up eye-popping numbers throughout her career with 188 hits over her four seasons so far, batting .497. Heading into this week, she also had 174 career RBIs and 164 runs scored with 51 doubles and 16 triples.
The numbers are fun, but Harper Creek’s success this year has been a bonus. The Beavers went into the week at 16-1.
“My senior year is off to a good start. My goals this year were to set some more records maybe, extend my home run records as well. But, mostly I want to win as much as we can as a team and we are doing that,” Halverson said. “This season is a bit different that way. Our new coaching staff is amazing. We have a staff now that really wants to win and that’s something I don’t think we had last year and that has helped us.”
And, that team concept is part of why she is having success individually as well.
“We have a strong lineup overall and that helps her. She has solid teammates behind her and that helps her do what she needs to do. And, along with that, her teammates are helped by having her in the lineup as well,” Palmer said.
Palmer added that the biggest improvement in Halverson’s overall game is her growing leadership abilities.
“She is always willing to try something different and that’s one of the great things about Kennedy,” Palmer said. “One of the things she wanted to try this year is to become more of a leader on and off the field. She has really taken that to heart and put in the work. He had been a little quiet before, but she has learned different ways to communicate with the other girls and that has helped her game and helped the team.”
She originally committed to play for Western Michigan after her sophomore season. Since then, she continues to have a target on her back as the school’s home run leader and as someone who is set to play at the Division I level in college.
“Some people know who I am and that affects the pitches I see sometimes, but I don’t’ really try to let them affect me. I just get a good pitch and hit it hard,” Halverson said. “I’m just continuing to look to have fun the rest of my senior year. But, I’m really exited about Western. I want to come in as an impact player my freshman year. Coaches there say I could do that and have plans for me to play as a corner infielder. Looking forward to it.”
Contact Bill Broderick at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on X/Twitter @billbroderick.
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Kennedy Halverson is Harper Creek’s home run queen in softball, and much more
Reporting by Bill Broderick, Battle Creek Enquirer / Battle Creek Enquirer
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