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Gatorade 2023 - 2024: Player of the Year

Softball - Illinois

athletes playing Softball
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SOFTBALL

Bella Dimitrijevic

Right-handed pitcher
LINCOLN-WAY CENTRAL HS
NEW LENOX, ILLINOIS
JUNIOR
Height: 5-FOOT-10
Press Release

Peak Performance

0.54

ERA

169.2

Innings Pitched

.405

Batting Average

8

Home Runs
“Bella could possibly be the most dominant pitcher that I have come across in 15-plus years of coaching high school softball. She has a truly special ability on the mound to throw with great velocity and incredible movement.”
Heather Novak
Head Coach - head coach of Lincoln-Way West High and also the 2000-01 Gatorade Illinois Softball Player of the Year
excellence star

Athletic Excellence

The 5-foot-10 junior right-handed pitcher posted a 26-3 record with a 0.54 earned run average this past season, leading the Knights (33-5) to the Super-Sectional round of the Class 4A state tournament. Dimitrijevic struck out 354 batters while allowing just 49 hits and 13 walks in 169.2 innings pitched. At the plate, she hit .405 with eight home runs and 42 runs batted in. A member of the Croatian National Team, she will participate in the Women’s Softball European Championships in the Netherlands this September.

a graduation cap

Academic Achievement

Dimitrijevic has maintained a weighted 4.36 GPA in the classroom. She has made a verbal commitment to play softball on scholarship at Florida State University beginning in the fall of 2025.

first place ribbon

Exemplary Character

Dimitrijevic has volunteered locally at the Bayer/Pulmonary Hypertension Association, assisting patients with limited mobility. She has also donated her time as a youth pitching instructor.