BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Keystone Heights High School senior Abbie Roach added to an already highlight-filled week with a Feb. 28 scholarship-signing ceremony, making it official that she’ll continue her softball career at Ocala’s College of Central Florida.
The signing occurred one day after Roach went 4 for 4 with a double, a triple and three RBI in Keystone’s 16-1 win over Clay and two days after she went 2 for 3 with a double, a triple and two RBI in the Indians’ 12-1 win over Ridgeview.
“It’s something I’ve dreamed of since I was like 3 years old,” Roach said of playing in college. She added, “Softball’s just been something so big in my life.”
Roach said she was looking at some schools in North Carolina and South Carolina, but found Central Florida a more appealing option.
“I mainly wanted to stay somewhere in the Sunshine State, and CF has such a great program and a great coach,” Roach said.
Roach’s stepsister, Emma Rogel, a 2022 KHHS graduate, is in her sophomore season for the Patriots softball team.
Through Keystone’s first four games, Roach, who plays center field, led the Indians with a .714 batting average and team highs in hits (10), doubles (3), triples (3), RBI (8) and runs scored (7). She was second on the team in most offensive categories during her junior season, with 30 hits, six doubles, three triples and 24 runs scored. Her batting average of .323 in 2023 was third on the team, as was also her RBI total of 15.
“I think she has a lot of confidence when she gets up there,” KHHS Head Coach Jessica Marquart said, adding, “She makes really good adjustments at the plate when she swings and misses a couple of times. Then she goes and gets a double.”
Marquart said Roach has the God-given gift of athleticism, but added that Roach also puts in hours of practice, fueling her competitive drive to always get better.
“She is always up at the field hitting,” Marquart said. “She’s in the baseball cages hitting. She has asked pitchers to stay after practice. ‘Hey, pitch to me. I want to get a couple more reps in.’
“It’s not just at practice. She’s doing this all the time, by herself, or she’s asking somebody to go hit with her.”
Roach doesn’t think twice about putting in the time to get better, saying, “It’s just natural for me. I want to do it.”
KHHS Principal Laurie Burke said that work ethic is key for any student-athlete who wants to earn a college scholarship.
“Don’t think that it’s come easy for them,” Burke said. “Don’t think that they didn’t go through struggles. Don’t think they didn’t have to battle with a lot of the things we battle with.
“If you work through those and don’t make excuses, you’re going to have more opportunities. Excuses hold you back.
“I want to commend Abbie for that.”
The work doesn’t end with having earned a college opportunity. Roach said she knows she’ll have to adapt to facing pitchers with more speed, spin and movement on their balls.
Marquart said, “I think she’s going to have to understand that she’s not going to get on base every single time. Pitching’s going to be a little bit better, but I think through practicing, she’s going to make a lot of adjustments.”
Roach said something she’ll take with her to Central Florida is Marquart’s “five-second” rule: if something bad happens, like a strikeout, you’ve got five seconds to think about it before putting it behind you.
“Just shake it off,” Roach said. “It’s all going to be OK. Just five seconds, and you’re done. You’re fine.”
Roach has the goal of playing at a four-year school after she completes two years at Central Florida. She has no dream school in mind. Any opportunity will be a blessing.
“I pray that God will give me one that feels right,” Roach said.
As long as she’s swinging a bat and chasing down fly balls, it’ll feel right. That’s why she doesn’t admit to any nervousness when asked what it’ll feel like when she steps onto the field for the first time as a College of Central Florida Patriot.
“I think it’ll feel like home,” Roach said. “I think it’ll feel like right where I belong.”
