NW Softball: Laurent signs with Pittsburg State
(Grand Island, NE) - The commitment was made nearly a year ago for Northwest senior Ava Laurent. Tuesday she made it official, signing her letter of intent to play softball at Pittsburg State University. The MIAA conference & NCAA Division II school in Pittsburg, Kansas was able to snag one of the top softball pitchers in the state of Nebraska with the help of some new coaches for the Gorillas. Jenny Fuller (Head Coach) and her husband Brad Fuller (Assistant) were announced as new coaches to the Pittsburg softball family in June of 2021. Jenny Fuller was previously a head coach at Northern State University, a fellow NCAA II program in Aberdeen, SD.
Coming off the first state softball championship in school history, Ava Laurent will leave Northwest High School as one of the most decorated softball players to wear black and gold. Laurent this past season pitched 154 innings in 34 games for the Vikings helping lead Northwest to a 33-3 record. Laurent also had a 28-1 record this past season giving up only 60 hits, 30 runs, 30 walks, 324 strikeouts and ended the season with a 1.00 ERA. Laurent's name will be etched also into several categories in the school record books. Most wins by a pitcher in a season (28) Most strikeouts in a season (324) Top ERA in a Season (1.00) Number one in a career wins (73) Most career strikeouts (833). She also holds the record for most strikeouts in a game with 19 in 2021 vs North Platte. This past season her highest was 17 strikeouts vs North Platte. Ava Laurent was also named to the All-Nebraska Selection, which is the first time a Northwest softball player has been named to the list.
Below listen to an interview with Laurent talking about the decision to head to Pittsburg to play collegiate softball.
