Emma Helm can pinpoint the moment when she knew the Meadowdale High School softball team had a good chance to win the state championship.
It was in the first inning of the state-title game.
Facing nerves, Enumclaw and University of Massachusetts-bound pitcher Quinn Breidenbach, Meadowdale scored six runs in the bottom of the first inning — the first coming on an RBI base hit by Helm — to take a big lead and ignite the Mavericks’ to the Class 3A title.
“I’d like to say I kind of knew from the first at-bat,” Helm said. “(Mavericks leadoff hitter) Kaitlyn Webster went up there and she just jacked a few balls foul. I knew then that we could hit Quinn. Ideally, that’s what I’d like to say, but I wasn’t thinking we were going to win the state championship from there.
“But that just kind of let us feel like, ‘We’ve got this. We can do it.’”
Less than an hour and a half later, Helm and the Mavericks celebrated a 10-0 victory over Enumclaw and the first state title in Meadowdale softball history. The Mavericks had numerous contributors and incredible performances in a season in which they averaged 12 runs per game, but it was Helm who stood out. The junior catcher batted .605 with 14 home runs, 63 RBI, 13 doubles, four triples and 49 runs scored — all team highs.
As a result of her standout season, Helm is The Herald’s 2016 Softball Player of the Year.
“She’s been awesome,” Meadowdale head coach Dennis Hopkins said. “She’s a true team player. She never puts herself first. It’s always the team first. Everything she does is to make the team better. She doesn’t really care if she gets any glory from it. It’s, ‘Will the team succeed if we do this?’”
Helm’s discipline at the plate, which Hopkins said comes partly from Helm being a catcher, is a huge part of what makes her successful.
“She almost always takes the first strike,” Hopkins said. “She’ll be down to a full count and launch one. Some people get freaked out with two strikes. She’s like, ‘OK, I’ve got to hit the ball.’ … It’s like, ‘It’s just another pitch and I haven’t struck out yet. So I might as well hit this one.’”
In 105 plate appearances, the University of Washington commit struck out just five times this season — four times swinging and once on a called third strike. Helm drew 15 walks, some of them intentional as opposing teams opted to pitch around the dangerous lefty.
“I believe that Emma Helm is the best player, not only in Wesco, but the entire state,” said Everett head coach Mike Millar, whose Seagulls fell to Helm and Meadowdale in the regular season and in the 3A District 1 championship game. “Pitchers always get the pub, but an awesome team leader and catcher that you absolutely cannot run on changes how offenses play.
“Her bat is the best in the state, I have no doubts about that. The kid can flat out rake. She has an awesome attitude and is just a cool kid and rare talent.”
Helm proved what a special talent she is when it mattered most. In Meadowdale’s four games at the state tournament, she hit .750 (9-for-12), with four home runs and nine RBI. She was 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBI in the championship game — including a double in the bottom of the sixth inning that ended the game because of the 10-run mercy rule.
“We just needed to play our game,” Helm said of the state tournament. “That was our big focus. It was the same thing, same mentality, same goals. We didn’t want to change anything because we hadn’t all season. So why do it then?”
But it’s not just Helm’s incredible offensive prowess that makes her so valuable.
Lauren Dent, Helm’s battery mate who pitched every inning for the Mavericks at the state tournament, said Helm does a great job of managing the game from behind the plate.
“She makes my pitches look good,” Dent said. “If it’s a ball off the plate, she can make it a strike. It’s really helpful because as a pitcher, it can be tough and having a talented catcher makes me look good.”
Dent, like Helm, is a junior and will be back next year as Meadowdale goes for the repeat.
“They’re only going to get better next year,” Hopkins said. “Senior year, with more experience, I’ve got to think the two of them are going to be the battery that everybody’s not going to want to face.”
But the Mavericks know that repeating could be tough. Especially with Snohomish, which won the 4A state championship, dropping down to 3A next season — giving the Wesco 3A two defending state softball champions in one league.
“It’s going to be awesome to step into the season knowing you’re the reigning champs,” Hopkins said. “But the target on your back is now the size of CenturyLink Field. Everybody’s going to want you.”
Nearly a week after beating Enumclaw, Helm was still getting used to the feeling of being a state champion. Immediately following the title game, the Mavericks were whisked away to prom, where they posed for pictures with the team’s four seniors and the trophy as applause broke out around them.
“It was probably the greatest thing ever,” Helm said as she looked at the giant state championship trophy. “After the game I couldn’t stop crying. It was just such a blessing. I’m so grateful for this team.
“It might take a year for all of this to sink in.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
