Statistics alone are probably enough to legitimize Bald Knob senior Autumn Humes' selection as the All-Arkansas Preps Softball Player of the Year. But as solid at they were, they paled in significance to Bald Knob Coach Todd Finley's tribute.
Humes, a right-handed pitcher, helped lead Bald Knob to three consecutive Class 3A state championships, a streak completed last month with a 1-0 victory over Rose Bud in the state final. Bald Knob's final record was 36-0. Humes finished the season at 30-0 as a starter, with an earned-run average of 0.34. She had 295 strikeouts in 185 innings.
Humes at a glance
SCHOOL Bald Knob
CLASS Senior
POSITION Pitcher/infielder
NOTEWORTHY Helped lead the Lady Bulldogs to their third consecutive Class 3A state championship. … Pitching statistics: 30-0, 0.34 earned-run average, 295 strikeouts in 185 innings. Batting statistics: .531 average with 11 home runs and 58 RBI. … Will play for NCAA Division II Harding next season. … Allowed nine earned runs in 185 innings this season.
Her numbers at the plate were equally impressive. She batted .531 with 11 home runs and 58 RBI.
It was Finley's first season as the Bald Knob head coach, but he had watched Humes in the 2015 playoffs as he coached Spring Hill to the Class 2A state title. He said Humes' softball talent was evident to everyone, but he was about to find qualities that transcended sports.
"The more I got to know her, even over my first month here, the more I got to see really what she was all about," Finley said. "Autumn doesn't just make me a better coach. She makes me want to be a better person. When you're around her, you realize that's she's the kind of person you want to be like.
"Sure, she can have her teenage moments just like every teenager, but she is a great person. When you're around her, you know she's just a great person."
Humes, who has signed a national letter of intent to play at Harding, spoke last week from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, where she was moments away from a flight for a mission trip to Central America with her church, Highway Church of Christ in Judsonia. She did not hesitate to name Bald Knob's championship victory over Rose Bud as the highlight of her high school career.
"I couldn't think of a more amazing way to end high school," Humes said.
Her career was impressive from the start. As a freshman in 2013, Humes was 14-4 as a starter with 1.50 ERA. She batted .511 with 6 home runs and 34 RBI. As a sophomore, she was 18-2 and 28-1 as a junior. Her high school pitching career ended with a record of 89-7 and 0.70 ERA. She had 795 strikeouts in 566 innings. She batted .520 overall, with 31 home runs and 190 RBI.
Humes committed to Harding as a junior. She said her choice was between Harding and Abilene Christian in Texas, both Church of Christ schools, and that proximity was the deciding factor.
"They're basically the same school, but one's eight hours away and the other's five minutes away," she said. "I chose the one closer to home."
Finley said many schools were interested.
"I was in my office before school even started last fall, and I was getting calls from college coaches wanting to know how committed Autumn was to Harding," Finley said. "We're talking major Division I colleges. Several were SEC schools."
Finley said NCAA Division II Harding would likely offer Humes a chance to play multiple positions and to play every day. Division I schools, on the other hand, might limit her to pitching.
Humes said she thought Harding might need her to pitch almost immediately.
"Harding's kind of short on pitchers right now, so I think I'll get plenty of pitch time right now," she said. "I think we'll work out a rotation and get a pitching staff that's successful for Harding as a whole, but I can pretty much play anywhere they need me. I work on pitching a lot more than anything else, but hitting is actually my favorite part of the game."
Sports on 06/12/2016