Semoball

Profile: Kennett softball's Olivia Orf a finalist at the 2022 Semoball Awards

Making the softball Final Four three out of her four years in high school, 2022 graduate Olivia Orf is one of five individual athletes from Kennett to be named spring Semoball Awards finalists.
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Not every high school athlete can boast Final Four victories three out of their four years in high school, but 2022 graduate Olivia Orf along with the rest of the Kennett softball team have fought tirelessly to claim that accomplishment. As a cornerstone of the team, Orf proved to be both an offensive and defensive threat throughout her career.

A finalist for the Spring 2022 Semoball Awards, Olivia Orf's high school softball career came to an end this spring with a third place finish in the MSHSAA Class 2 Softball State Finals. Orf played third base and worked her way up the batting order to lead the team in RBIs to finish her career.

Kennett softball coach Logan Dollins says that while the team had a lot of talent on the field this year, Orf stands out among them. In her career Orf has made First Team All Conference, All District and All State.

“She was a big run-producer from the offensive standpoint, and defensively in my opinion she's the best third baseman in Southeast Missouri,” Dollins said. “She was a huge part of our program; she played at an extremely high level. She's a great worker, great teammate and she's a high energy player who does all the little things right – all those things lead to success in a program.”

It's hard to overstate the accomplishments of the Kennett softball team during Orf's tenure on the roster. The team placed second in State her freshman year and placed third in State both her junior and senior years. She's confident that the team would have made it to the Final Four her sophomore year as well if COVID-19 hadn't altered things.

“Three runs at State in four years is really accomplishing,” Orf said. “Going in as a freshman you don't think we're going to go to State, but with the program we have here at Kennett we have the history of going to State and winning, so that's always the goal. Going three years out of four, and possibly going again due to COVID, you want that ring and to come back and show your community that you're worth what they put their money into and what they come and support.”

Orf says that for her, school always came first. She reminisced that she always made finishing school work before anything else a priority so that when the time came, she was relaxed and totally focused on the game.

Kennett's Olivia Orf hits during the MSHSAA Class 2 quarterfinal Tuesday, May 17, 2022, in Piedmont, Mo.
File photo: DAR/Brian Rosener

She also made the difficult decision to forgo a future in softball at the collegiate level to focus on her future. Orf will instead be attending Arkansas Northeastern College in Blytheville, Ar., to pursue a nursing degree starting this fall.

“A lot of people keep telling me to go play softball, but I think it's time to hang up the cleats and focus on my career and life,” Orf said. “I love the game and I had the opportunity to continue to play – and it was one of the hardest things of my life to decide on at just 18, especially with getting offers right at the end of the season.”

After graduating four All State players, including Orf, the Indian softball team will have big shoes to fill this year. The team's roster will consist of just one senior and one junior, but Orf and Dollins both agree that the depth is there to make it to the top again.

“Yeah, we're going to have a young team this year, but that doesn't mean people should overlook them,” Orf said. “They weren't just depending on us five seniors; everybody played their position and played it well. When the time comes, people are going to step up and prove themselves. They're going to keep working and they're going to show out in the spring.”

In addition to Orf, four more individual athletes will be representing Kennett at the 2022 Semoball Awards. Tanner Duncan is a finalist for the Baseball and Comeback Athlete categories. Reese Robinet is a finalist for the Baseball category. Both Anelle Harris and Ben McMullan are finalists for the Scholar Athlete category. Additionally, tennis coach Janet Hilburn is a finalist for Coach of the Year, and the Kennett girls basketball team is a finalist for the Sportsmanship category.

The ninth-annual Semoball Awards will be held Friday, July 8, at LaCroix Church in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Tickets can be purchased at Semoball.com/awards.

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