Frost sparks Highlanders
When the Shadle Park softball team’s offense needs a jump-start, the Highlanders go to China. And the best part is, she’s not halfway around the globe!
Shadle Park senior China Frost is a two-time all-Greater Spokane League player, a three-year letterman, and the spark plug for the Highlanders from her spot at the top of the batting order, where she’s a master of the short game, says her coach George Lynn.
Shadle Park is the defending Class 4A state champion after finishing second and fourth the previous two years. And with seven seniors returning from that championship team, including state MVP pitcher Sam Skillingstad, the Highlanders are looking to repeat.
“It won’t be easy this year,” Lynn said. “We need to keep our focus, show up every day and work hard, not be looking at how we should repeat.”
When the subject turns to Frost, he said simply, “She gets the team going offensively. The strength of her game is her consistency at the plate – she always puts the ball in play and is an incredibly tough out. With her speed, she can bunt, slap or swing away, and that makes her really dangerous because the defense doesn’t know what’s coming.”
During her career at Shadle Park, Frost has played every infield position except shortstop, but she’s a mainstay at third base now. She was also the GSL batting champion last spring.
But it isn’t just what she does that Lynn praises, it’s how she does it.
“China is probably the most optimistic athlete I’ve ever coached. She’s also very much in check with her emotions. She has an incredible disposition that will make her successful throughout her life, on and off the softball field.”
A conversation with Frost quickly reveals what Lynn sees on a daily basis. She talks a lot about the importance of team chemistry and the need for everyone to take her turn picking a teammate up when she’s down.
“It’s been great playing with my teammates all these years because we’ve gotten really close, and close to Coach George,” she said. “I’ve loved softball since I was really little.”
Frost, Skillingstad and Danielle Lynn have played together on school and club teams since Frost was 10, so this spring will have a certain poignancy.
“This season is especially important because the three of us have been together so long,” she said. “We want to stay as close as possible and help our younger players to improve by watching the seniors and seeing how well we work together.”
Shadle’s overwhelming recent success in the GSL has frequently resulted in a competitive imbalance – a nice way of saying that many of the Highlanders’ numerous victories have been blowouts. So how does Frost keep her edge in those contests?
“I love to play in close, competitive games whether they’re during GSL, playoffs or summer,” she said. “I love to be the one with the responsibility on my shoulders to drive in a run in the last inning or make a big play.
“But in the games that aren’t close, I still need to find a way to stay involved and to improve. I just try to go through my different techniques. That might mean trying to hit the ball to a certain gap or open spot on the field, or on defense if I’m not getting a lot of balls I need to encourage the other girls so we don’t get bored standing around.”
Next fall, she’s headed for Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, along with Mead shortstop Katie Kine, but first things first:
“It was heartbreaking to lose the championship game two years ago and kind of hard to get over, but winning state last spring was the biggest thrill of my life. Getting that goal accomplished was a great feeling, and the one thing that could top that would be to do it again!”