Young knows how to make a perfect exit — twice
By Zachary Dzurick
Sports
Published May 25, 2005

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Being perfect isn't easy.

If you are a varsity fast pitch softball player being perfect is rather rare. You need to have command of your pitches, confidence in your fielders and a little bit of luck.

Olmsted Falls resident K.C. Young, however, found the perfect time to be perfect … twice.

As a high school senior, Young found perfection in her last start as a Bulldog. It was her only perfect game. She ended her career by retiring every batter she faced. Not a bad way to hang up the Blue and Gold.

She continued her career at nearby Baldwin-Wallace College. She flirted with a few perfect games but could never quite finish the job. Then in the last home start of her college career, she found herself with a chance to do it again.

"I thought about the perfect game from high school a lot," Young admitted. "It was cool that it was the only one I had ever had. I had come close a few times but it never happened again. Then I remembered right before I went out to pitch the third inning of my last home college game. I said to someone, 'Had anyone reached base yet?' and I knew I had a chance."

Young knew she had a chance. The high school experience combined with her near misses gave her confidence and she believed in her teammates.

"I really wanted a perfect game in college," Young said. "I had faith in my teammates."

Her faith proved truthful as both her shortstop and second baseman made fantastic plays to preserve the perfect game.

K.C. Young

"There were two really hard shots," Young said. "I panicked on both. The shortstop knew about the perfect game but on the hard shot in the sixth, the second baseman was completely unaware."

Besides ending both her high school and college careers in the perfect manner, Young also got another perfect sendoff. She was named to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV First Team for her efforts on the playing field and in the classroom. The teams are voted on by 308 college and university division sports information directors from CoSIDA District IV, which includes the states of Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. With her selection, Young advanced to the national CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot.

Young is very proud of the award.

"It is almost bigger than any on-field award," Young said. "Part of the reason I went to a D-III school was because I went to college for academics. The award means a lot to me."

Young got to walk with classmates at graduation but she still has to complete one semester of student teaching. She is an early childhood and special needs major. Her mother, Linda, is currently the registrar at Baldwin-Wallace, but began her career as an early childhood teacher.

"My mom had a lot of influence on me," Young said. "I am looking forward to being in the classroom. It is really exciting."

Young is glad she chose Baldwin-Wallace.

"BW has been awesome," Young said. "It is one of those things where the more you put in, the more you get. I feel I got a lot out of the school."

Young was a captain this season for the Yellow Jackets. She takes a great deal of pride in how the team worked together this season.

"The OAC is so competitive," Young said. "We had our smallest roster this season but everyone was so committed and did their best. Our coaches were wonderful. We had fun and were a family. My goal as a captain was to have every girl work toward the same goal. I feel that we accomplished that."

Veteran Baldwin-Wallace coach Joe Yocabet thinks very highly of Young.

"Any coach would want KC on their team," Yocabet said. "She is a strong leader because she is so positive from academics down. The younger kids look up to her. She has won a lot of awards. She is very deserving of every award both academically and athletically."

On the mound this season, Young was 5-9 overall with a team leading 2.25 earned run average including 99 strikeouts in 118 innings. Young is not your typical no-hit pitcher either. She started 31 of the team's 32 games at designated player. She was second on the team in batting average at .322 with 37 hits in 115 at bats. She also hit eight doubles, two triples and drove in 12 runs.

For her career, Young has a .309 batting average with 18 doubles, 4 triples and 31 RBI to go with her 21-24 record with a 2.32 lifetime ERA and 261 career strikeouts.