Ella Baker the Strikeout Maker for Bledsoe Co

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) Bledsoe Co softball went 30-2 last year, and they’re off to a perfect start this season.
When you post that kind of record in softball, it usually means you have great pitching. And the Warriors have a warrior in the circle in junior pitcher Ella Baker, the strikeout maker.

When Ella Baker gets in the circle, everyone notices she can bring it.
Said head coach Mary Melton:”I have umpires that come up to me and they’ll say, you’ve got some good pitching you know. That she brings it and her movement is good.”
Baker’s physical movement wasn’t always so good.
She suffered a femur fracture before her freshman season.
Said Baker:”I was pitching a travel ball game, and the field was super wet. I just kept landing in a hole, so it was a stress fracture.”
Apparently Baker knows no pain.
Said Baker:”Well I finished the game out because we were winning. I was like. I just thought I tweaked my knee. I played the next game. I went to school the next morning. I was talking to my volleyball coach. She was like your knee is huge, so then I went to the doctor.”
Baker is healthy now in her junior season, and so are her stats.
59 strikeouts in five games with an ERA of 0.68, including a perfect game.
Said Melton:”Ella puts in a lot of hard work in the off-season. She strives to be a leader and to be the best on the mound.”
Baker isn’t bad at the dish either.
Said Melton:”She’s got a stick. Yeah she’s in our three hole.”
She’s a star player with a fitting nickname.
Reporter:”Heard somebody holler Hollywood while you were in the circle. (laughter)
Who was that?”
Said Baker:”That’s my catcher’s mom. She has been calling me Hollywood since probably tee-ball. I don’t know. A long time.”
Reporter:”Where did that come from?”
Said Baker:”I would wear these big old sunglasses, and they were so ugly. She just started calling me Hollywood.”