Two years after devastating injury, Washington senior inks to play softball at Charleston Southern

Published 2:19 am Thursday, November 14, 2024

By Jason O. Boyd

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Two years ago, Addison Miller didn’t know if she would ever play softball again. There was uncertainty about whether she would see out of her right eye, too.

Flash forward to Wednesday and the Washington senior’s life and softball career have come full circle. She signed a national letter of intent to play softball at Charleston Southern, which plays in the Big South Conference.

After her senior season as a catcher for the Pam Pack, she’ll be off to the big city to focus on the next part of her athletic career and to make an impact there as she has at Washington. And thanks to her talent and good fortune, she’s living her best moments right now.

“It was actually really surprising,” she said about the opportunity. “We were in the middle of a tournament, and then we knew that they were looking at us, but we didn’t know that they were really thinking about us. And then they came up and told us, and it was the best feeling ever when they told us that.

“I mean, I had no words to say. It was crazy.”

Addison’s father, Shane, said that moment came about a year after one of her lowest points. At the very same tournament, Addison suffered a freak injury in November of 2022 where she was hit by a softball on the right side of her face. It broke bones around her eye and nose and gave her a big bruise. She was rushed to the hospital and had to have emergency surgery. There were months of doctor visits and plastic surgery, but she continued to play and did not miss any time on the diamond.

Then, of all moments, a year later at the same tournament, the process began where her college fortunes would soon be set in stone. Fast forward a few months later after a visit and discussion and she’s ready to take that next step once she finishes helping the Pam Pack achieve success on the diamond in the spring.

“Addison is a player who continually worked outside of practices to get better, she worked on her own,” Washington softball coach Brad Horton said. “So she’s worked hard for this, and I honestly feel that she deserves it.

“I think she’s gonna excel in it and her work ethic will allow her the ability to grow and progress, and she understands it’s gonna be a chore. When you go play college ball, it’s a different experience. But she’s put in the work and I think she understands where she’s going and where she wants to be and she’s outside of ball.”

According to stats on MaxPreps.com, Miller was among the Pam Pack’s leaders in batting average (.465), on-base percentage (.494), hits (33), RBIs (18), slugging percentage (.760) and doubles (11). She will play a vital role and be a leader on a Washington softball team that has high expectations again this season.

“I can really just be excited,” Miller said. “I don’t have to be stressed out anymore, stressed about where I’m going to go, If I’m going to make it in time.

“But it just takes a lot of stress off, and I can really enjoy playing now. And I get to be happy for all my other teammates that are going to play places and that are looking to play.”

She still has a scar on her face from the injury and the surgeries that followed. While it may serve as a reminder of what happened to her, it’s also a battle scar to show how fierce and competitive she is and that nothing is going to stop her from reaching new heights.

“We just kept working, kept working,” Miller said. “I was very, very fortunate to have as good of a recovery as I did. And we definitely still are careful and taking our precautions now. We wear face masks the whole time. 

“Anything can happen at any moment. You never know. I just got very lucky.”

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