Wilkinson, McDuffee, Heinz

Top fastpitch softball pitchers  

work through injury problems

This story condensed from a much larger article by Tom Mauldin | MaxPreps.com.

Please CLICK HERE for the full story.

Three of the premier high school softball pitchers in the United States have been sidelined with arm injuries for all or parts of the 2012 season. All three, however, remain integral parts of their high school programs and each will play at a national level next year when they enter college. All three also said they have learned and grown from the down time.

Chelsea Wilkinson of Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.) is back to normal, maybe beyond normal... Kelly Heinz of Lee-Davis (Mechanicsville, Va.) will not pitch this season, but she is getting playing time as a designated hitter... Paige McDuffee is seeing time at first base and there is a chance she could pitch in time for a playoff run as The Woodlands (Texas) goes after its second-straight Texas state title...


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► Paige McDuffee 

McDuffee began experiencing pain last spring, but pitched through it.

Paige McDuffee

"My forearm would swell to the size of a softball and I didn't have a lot of my physical stuff during the playoff run (last year)," said McDuffee. "It made me grow a lot mentally. I just had to get through innings by telling myself, 'Last pitch and you're done' ... over and over. I knew it wasn't the last pitch, but I had to keep telling myself it was."

McDuffee admitted the excruciating pain brought her to tears many times. Nonetheless, she finished the year 37-1, with 244 strikeouts in 216 innings and an ERA of 0.97. The Woodlands won not only the Texas title, but also a national title...

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► Chelsea Wilkinson 

"My fingers swelled up so much I couldn't bend them," said Wilkinson, who guided Alexander Central to state titles in 2009 and 2011. "We saw several doctors and had different results."

Chelsea Wilkinson

One said it was blood flow. Two said it was elbow related. All recommended rest.

Wilkinson missed the first six games of the 2012 season and her senior year was in jeopardy when one doctor - a former Alexander Central player - suggested it might be the way she was gripping the ball.

"So, I changed my grip and everything has been good since," said Wilkinson...



Since her return, Wilkinson has 12 shutouts (in 15 games) and six no-hitters. In her career, she has 104 wins, 76 shutouts and 20 no-hitters. She has nearly 1,300 strikeouts.

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► Kelly Heinz 

For Heinz, it's been a different story. She will not pitch this spring or summer... After pitching in a game last October, Heinz was bruised from her lower forearm up to her shoulder. After taking a few weeks off, she started throwing again and noticed something was popping on and off the bone.

Kelly Heinz

"At first, the doctors tested for a ligament being torn," she said. "We eventually found out it was my nerve. It was causing me a lot of pain ... losing feeling in my ring finger and pinky. I couldn't hold the ball correctly. Or pitch."

Surgery was a little more than seven weeks ago, but she reports rehabbing is on schedule.

Heinz had her season opener April 20 and contributed to her team's win with a double and a single on April 24. She drove in two runs in her second game back. "It's nice to be part of the game in some sort of way," said Heinz, who was the designated hitter for Monday's game.

Heinz threw a pitching workout Monday and will have another next week or the week after...

In 2011, Heinz threw a no-hitter in the region tournament semifinals, a perfect game in the final, struck out 292 and posted a 0.09 ERA. She also hit .455 and drove in 26 runs. Though the injury has created worries, she said the surgery was successful, noting that the ulnar nerve was moved from the bottom of the elbow to the top.