Fountain Central softball and Kacey Kirkpatrick were a match made for one another. Kirkpatrick when this spring rolls around will be a four-year starter for the Mustangs and has been a building block of their recent success. Now Kirkpatrick has also found her college home as the senior officially signed to continue her softball career at Indiana Tech.
Kirkpatrick signs as a pitcher where last season she had the best season yet in the circle for FC. She went 8-9 with 158 strikeouts in 105 innings to the tune of a 3.33 ERA. The decision to continue her career with the Warriors came down to a few different factors for the standout Mustang.
“I met their coach at a camp up in Crown Point decided that I’d go back to a few more just to see how it went,” Kirkpatrick said. “At every single one of their camps Coach Zimny was there and my last camp at their campus, I stepped onto that field and it felt like I belonged. I fell in love with them after going on an official visit and the rest was history.”
Indiana Tech is coming off a 41-12 season and a trip to the NAIA Softball World Series. Mustang coach Ric Walke first met Kirkpatrick in the sixth grade and from then he knew he had a special player.
“Kacey first and foremost is a great person and that’s what stands out the most about her,” Walke said. “She’s been that anchor ever since her freshman year being in the circle for us. She’s a phenomenal pitcher but for us she gets it done with her bat too.
She had more home runs, doubles and walks last year. A player like Kacey is someone that doesn’t come around very often and I’m proud to see her go on to play at the next level.”
For most high school athletes there’s a point where they realize that playing in college is something they want to work hard towards. The decision for Kirkpatrick was made very early on in the process and from then on, she was going to do everything it took to make it a reality.
“I’ve always loved softball as long as I can remember and I knew that I’d have to get on a very competitive travel ball team if I wanted to make this a reality,” she said. “Then after my first year here at FC I knew this was something that I couldn’t be done with after high school. Every year since then it’s been about going to tournaments and trying to get seen by as many coaches as I can.”
With Kirkpatrick’s signing, that makes two Mustangs that have signed in to continue their careers in college as teammate Zoe Foxworthy-DeJournett signed here recently as well.
Now with one final season left in her Mustang career and coming off her best season yet, Kirkpatrick along with what is expected to be a very talented Mustang team in 2024, looks to break through and compete for a sectional title. It’d be the perfect ending to what’s been nothing short of a stellar career for Kirkpatrick.
