By Sue Moore
Avery Slancik of Vicksburg will join her brother, Trace, at Hope College in the fall to play softball while he plays baseball there. With a 4.071 GPA, she received an academic scholarship. Hope is a Division III school and can’t offer athletic scholarships.
Avery has been a star pitcher for the Bulldogs, having played travel ball since she was eight years old. She helped the team get to the state finals in 2016 but was hobbled with injuries during her junior season after injuring her foot in the first game. Still, she found a way to pitch off and on, helping the team to a 29-10-1 record. She verbally committed to Hope in March of 2017.
After an MRI on the foot, she underwent surgery nine weeks ago on her lisfranc tendon. She hobbled around and was out of a cast four weeks ago. She is taking four AP courses in her senior year but is undecided on a college major. She is leaning toward math or health sciences.
Her outside activities include participation in her church’s youth group. She has been a worship team singer since eighth grade at Valley Family church. She played basketball in 2016 but prefers softball because of its competitiveness. She grew up playing the game with her brother in the back yard along with neighbors Conner and Adam Henderson who also have been baseball and football stars for Vicksburg in the last few years. Her head coach is Paul Gephart, with Ed Knapp as his assistant coach. Her dad, Mike has been an assistant softball coach during Avery’s years on the team.