SOFTBALL: Rochester Adams’ Curran, Nash wrap up prep careers with All-Star nods
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
Dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
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ROCHESTER HILLS – When Emma Curran and Mary Nash made the varsity cut back in 2016, the Rochester Adams softball program was going through some lean years.
The duo and recent 2019 Adams grads helped change that.
The duo, part of a six-senior class of softball players at Adams this past season, was selected and recently participated in the Michigan High School Softball Coaches Association All-Star Game at Central Michigan University, competing for the Division 1 White Team following stellar prep careers.
Rochester Adams’ Emma Curran, who recently competed in the MHSSCA All-Star Game, helped a revival on the softball diamond for the Highlanders. Courtesy Photo / Rochester Adams Athletics
Adams, which captured the OAA White Division in 2018, was moved up to the Red Division this season and placed third of seven schools — with the Highlanders’ four league losses coming to Top 10-ranked squads Clarkston and Lake Orion. Adams also captured its first district title this season since 1996, snapping a 23-year drought.
“I think it was quite an honor for us to be chosen for that All-Star game. Not too many players (in each division) are selected to play, so our coach told us that we were in the top percentage of players in the state,” offered Curran, also a stellar student who posted a 4.25 GPA and registered a 33 on her ACT. “What a great way to end our (high school) careers.”
Curran, a strong-armed third baseman, set the school record with 188 career hits while batting .409 for her career, including .450 this year. She was a four-time All-OAA selection as well as being named All-District and All-Region as both a junior and senior. She will attend the University of Michigan next year but will not attempt to walk on the softball program there.
Rochester Adams’ Mary Nash, who was named to the Division 1 All-State Honorable Mention list, helped the Highlanders win their first district since 1996 and reach the regional finals. Courtesy Photo / Rochester Adams Athletics
Nash, an outfielder who will compete for Division III Baldwin-Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, next school year, earned All-OAA honors three times to go along with All-District and All-Region twice and Division 1 All-State Honorable Mention as a senior.
“Both of them had great careers at Adams,” said longtime Adams coach Fran Scislowicz, who was chosen as one of two coaches to lead the D-1 White Team. “To see all of their hard work pay off being selected to play in that game was great. It was an honor for me, too, to coach in the game and coach them one last time.”
Curran and Nash were two of five local players from the www.northoaklandsports.com coverage area, joining Oxford’s Chloe Allen, Lake Orion’s Tessa Nuss and Clarkston’s Olivia Warrington. Nuss was a member of the D-1 Red Team, while the other four were part of the White Team. The Red defeated the White, 2-1.
Curran and Nash helped Adams post a respectable 25-10 overall record and reach the Division 1 regional finals this season. The Sweet 16 was the furthest that Adams has advanced since the early 1990s.
“We worked so hard in the off-season to get better. We really wanted to win a district title this year,” beamed Curran. “It has been close to 25 years, so we made it one of our main goals this year to win a district and we did it.
“It’s funny but when we were freshmen we weren’t very good. We were up in the OAA-Red and I don’t think we even won a single game in the league that year, recalled Curran of the 2016 season. “But we got better and better each year, won the (OAA) White last year and district this year.”
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