34 Days Until the State Football Announcement
Gatorade 2017 - 2018: Player of the Year

Softball - Massachusetts

athletes playing Softball
The POY Logo
SOFTBALL

Kelly Nelson

Right-handed pitcher
NORTON HS
NORTON , MASSACHUSETTS
SENIOR
Height: 5-FOOT-11
Press Release

Peak Performance

0.65

ERA

233

Strikeouts

108

Innings Pitched

1

Perfect Games
“Kelly is virtually unhittable. It’s to the point where her pitches are so fast that my players have to decide before the pitch whether they will swing or not. Her ball also has tremendous movement, including an unusual rise that most hitters cannot pick up.”
Jeff Kearney
Head Coach at Medway High
excellence star

Athletic Excellence

The state’s returning Gatorade Player of the Year, the 5-foot-11 senior right-handed pitcher had led the Lancers to a 17-1 record at the time of her selection, posting a 16-1 mark in the circle with a 0.65 ERA and 233 strikeouts in 108 innings pitched. Nelson, who owned a state-record 1,245 career strikeouts through 18 games, pitched an perfect game on April 24 against Dover-Sherborn High, striking out all 15 batters in a five-inning victory—one of 17 no-hitters, including 10 perfect games, in her prep softball career.

a graduation cap

Academic Achievement

A member of her school’s math, science, history and English honor societies, Nelson has maintained a weighted 4.43 GPA the classroom. She has made a verbal commitment to play softball on scholarship at the College of the Holy Cross this fall.

first place ribbon

Exemplary Character

The vice president of her class and a member of the Norton High student council, Nelson has volunteered locally as a math tutor and as a mentor to elementary-school students through her school’s PALS program.