The sky is the limit for pitcher Kendall Freidinger and the Empire Ravens

During the final at-bat of last season’s AIA State Softball Championship, Empire High School pitcher Kendall Freidinger threw two rise balls inside.

The batter swung at both, putting two strikes on the board.

While Empire was still ahead, the Valley Christian Trojans were attempting to make a comeback in the last inning by bringing in four runs, making the score 10-6.

The pressure was on for Freidinger as her catcher called for her to throw another rise ball.

“Hopefully this one is as good as the last one,” she remembers thinking.

It was.

“I threw the last pitch and then me and my catcher Abby (Zsitvay) ran toward each other and then it just turned into this giant group hug out on the field,” she said, adding, “The game was over and then I was happy, and then I was sad, and it was like every single emotion hit me at the same time. It was crazy. I was crying. I was laughing. It was a lot.”

Freidinger threw 10 strikeouts that game, leading the Ravens to a 10-6 state championship victory.

The moment became her all-time favorite softball memory, she says.

Now, Freidinger and the Ravens are looking to repeat history as they make their way through the 3A state championship.

After run ruling Safford 11-0 during the first round of the tournament on Saturday, May 3, Empire is set to take on Sabino in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, May 7.

Much like last year’s tournament, Freidinger isn’t super stressed about going head-to-head with the top teams in her conference. It’s something she anticipates.

“(I’m looking forward to) just going back and playing those tough teams,” she said. “I hope that we’re able to see Sabino again. I hope that we’re able to see Tanque Verde again. And just getting to play those tougher games and just keep improving how we played against them last time.”

The last time Empire faced Tanque Verde (on April 21), things didn’t quite go as expected for the Ravens. They were on a 39-game winning streak and Freidinger was undefeated this season.

But Tanque Verde sophomore pitcher Claire Achilles wouldn’t let Empire off the hook that easily.

The Hawks took down the Ravens, 5-1, ending Empire’s win streak that dated back to last season and giving Freidinger her first loss of the season.

Freidinger calls the loss a “wake-up call” for her team.

“I’ve been playing against Claire for a few years now, even though she is younger than us, and she’s a really great pitcher, and we knew last year when we played them, that this year was going to be a lot tougher and then they definitely showed up and played an amazing game,” she said. “That just makes me more excited to play them again because now we know what we’re going up against and I feel like we’re more prepared for her pitching and their offense.”

After the Tanque Verde game, the Ravens didn’t sulk. Instead, the team discussed how they can improve and continue to soar throughout the remainder of the season.

“There’s a lot of things that we need to work on, but every team has those things that they can do to get better, so I think it was good, and it just opened our eyes to these small little things that we can fix as we go into playoffs,” she said.

If Empire and Tanque Verde beat their opponents in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, the two teams will face each other once again in the semifinals on Friday, May 9.

The possible matchup isn’t as daunting as it sounds for Freidinger, who says her confidence as a pitcher has only grown over the last few years.

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“Getting the opportunity to play in such big games, it puts so much pressure on you that it forces you to grow,” she said. “And so I think that from where I started as a freshman to where I am now is significantly (better). I’ve grown a lot as a pitcher, as a person, as an overall player and it’s just been so great. And I feel like I’m so prepared for my last few months of club and then into college. I just feel like I’ve gotten all the preparation that I need for that.”

Longtime Empire varsity softball coach Shannon Woolridge calls Freidinger a “fierce and fearless” competitor who always wants the ball.

Freidinger began her softball journey nearly a decade ago after deciding that soccer wasn’t for her. As someone who was always competitive, she loved the team aspect of softball and how easy it was to get invested in the sport.

She later joined club team Impulse Nielson and the Empire varsity team when she started high school.

“Based upon her freshman year performance, we knew we had a good pitcher coming back, but I never would have imagined that she would go on to do what she’s done, you know, pretty much shattering all of the pitching records that we have,” Woolridge said. “It’s been nothing short of amazing to watch her work.”

This season, she has a 1.40 ERA and landed at the No. 52 spot on national leaderboards for strikeouts (236). She’s also No. 59 in the nation for wins (18).

But Freidinger isn’t only getting wins on the field; she’s getting them in the classroom, too.

She’s part of the Vail Early College program, where Vail students can earn college credits while still in high school. She’ll graduate from Empire with a 4.45 GPA.

Softball and school take up a majority of her time, but she still enjoys hanging out with her friends and teammates during her free time — something she’s trying to soak up before the next step in her life: college.

After graduating this spring, Freidinger is headed to Weber State University on an athletic scholarship to study health administration with a minor in psychological studies.

She hopes to become a labor and delivery nurse.

But softball will always be a big part of her life. She says she could eventually see herself coaching or giving pitching lessons to kids. And maybe, just maybe, return to Empire one day to help coach.

“She just carries herself very well. She’s extremely mature, very thoughtful and articulate, not saying that she hadn’t always been that way,” Woolridge said. “But to see these kids come in as bright-eyed, inexperienced freshmen to young women that are ready to lead and take on the world … I mean, the wins are great. The championships are great. But seeing them develop into young women who are ready for that next step is probably the most gratifying. And Kendall certainly measures up to all that.”

Fast Five with Kendall

Who is your softball idol?

(Empire assistant coach) Brittany Strebing. I look up to her a ton. I know it’s not like a huge celebrity player or anything like that, but just what she did at Empire and then she went on to play in college and now she’s helping coach at Empire. She does lessons. She’s a mom now, I just look up to her a lot, like the way that she’s gone through her life and the things that she does and just the type of person she is.

What is one must-have item on game day?

On the way to games and stuff, I have a tradition where I have to have a Red Bull. So, I get the coconut Red Bull. And it’s been the last three years now, I have to have one before the game.

What is your post-game routine?

I’ll go get dinner with either my family or with some of the girls. My dad is the type of person to be super big on stats and the numbers behind everything. So, he’ll usually just sit there and run off all the numbers from the game to me, and we’ll just talk it over and talk about, like, what went good, what went wrong, that kind of stuff.

What is your favorite medical movie or show?

I really like “Grey’s Anatomy.” That’s another thing that got me into it, was just watching “Grey’s Anatomy.” (Kendall was also inspired to get into the medical field by her grandma.)

What is your current favorite class?

I really like my anatomy class. I’m in the second half of it, so it’s more of like the digestive system and reproductive system, which I want to be a labor and delivery nurse, so that’s been super interesting to me. We’re doing a lot of labs right now, so it’s been super fun and hands-on.