Valtman signs to play Drake softball

Swing batter swing.

Emily Valtman knew it early on in youth softball.

“There’s nothing like the feeling of having a bat in your hands and making contact with the ball,” Valtman said.

For two years, Valtman has led the Newton High Cardinal softball team and the Little Hawkeye Conference in slugging percentage. The Cardinal senior shortstop had the best batting average during the 2018 summer season.

What does being good at the plate get you?

For Valtman, she signed a national letter of intent to play NCAA Division I softball for Drake University next season. She made it official on Wednesday with family, friends and coaches witnessing her realize her dream.

“I’m really excited to be going to Drake for my softball and academics,” Valtman said. “It’s softball program has become prominent under head coach Rich Calvert.”

Calvert begins his 17th season at the helm of the Drake softball program. The Bulldogs were 45-12 in 2018 and went 24-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference, winning the regular-season and tournament championships.

Drake recorded wins in the 2018 NCAA tournament. It was the first time the Bulldog softball program had NCAA tournament wins.

Valtman said she began inquiring into athletic and academic opportunities at private and smaller colleges factoring in the student-to-teacher ratio. She said Drake’s softball team is not just successful on the field but is one of the top academic program in the nation.

“This is a great fit for Emily on all levels,” Newton High head coach Casey Price said. “The Drake coach did a great job of recruiting Emily. I know when she was able to have a campus visit and meet with the softball players, she knew it was where she wanted to go. She was comfortable.”

Valtman said both the softball program and academics at Drake were appealing to her. She said she was going into college undecided on a major to pursue.

“I’m just not sure what I want to do yet. I’ve enjoyed both chemistry and psychology but no profession jumps out at me yet. I’ll go to Drake and see where it takes me.”

Valtman began playing softball when she was 7. She said when her family lived in Indiana, she went to softball camps and watched the college players.

She said being around those college players fueled her dream of being on a college softball team. Valtman said playing NCAA Division I softball was a goal, and Drake is providing her an opportunity to compete at a high level in a sport she loves.

What has powered Valtman to this point — Iowa Class 4A first-team honors, helping lead the Newton High softball team to a third-place finish at the 4A state tournament in 2018 and all the rest?

“Success is a small part of it but squaring up and hitting a hard line drive somewhere to drive in runners feels so good,” Valtman said. “I knew I wanted to be the best hitter I could be.”

She said when she was 11 or 12 at a national youth softball tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C., her father and her met a man at the batting cages. Valtman said the man said at all colleges, hitters will play.

“He said if you have a good bat, teams will find a way to get you in,” Valtman said. “I’ve taken that to heart and I’ve been working on my bat then I work in the field.”

Valtman finished the 2018 season with a .512 batting average and a .964 slugging percentage. Those numbers put her eighth in 4A in batting average and fourth in slugging percentage.

She had eight home runs, 21 RBIs, 48 hits, 11 doubles, and four triples. Valtman scored 36 runs, walked 30 times and had six stolen bases. She struck out five times in 90 at-bats.

“Emily has a great attitude and work ethic. The Drake softball players will take her in and she’ll fit right in,” Price said. “She has such a love for the game and her knowledge of the game is tremendous.”

Valtman was in the middle of the Cardinals’ historic 2018 season at the plate and in the field. Newton had its best-ever season at 26-8, finishing third, which was the highest ever for the program, at the 4A state tournament.

It was a walk-off solo home run by Valtman which put the Cardinals in the state semifinal game. Valtman hadn’t expected to be pitched to — Cedar Rapids Xavier had walked her throughout the game.

“I was just thinking base hit, get a rally started,” Valtman said after she ended the 4A quarterfinal game between the 10th-ranked Cardinals and the 11th-ranked Saints with a walk-off home run in July at the state tournament.

In the state tournament, Valtman was 5-for-7 with six walks, two doubles and a home run.

Valtman led the LHC in slugging percentage (1.038), batting average (.491), on-base percentage (.585) and home runs (6) in conference games in 2018.

Valtman is pretty good in the field also. She had five errors playing shortstop for the Cardinals in 2018. Her overall fielding percentage was .948.

Valtman was named to the 2018 All-Little Hawkeye Conference softball first team as an infielder. Shortstop is not her favorite defensive position.

“I was recruited as a catcher. I had never played infield until we moved to Newton,” Valtman said. “I had played behind the plate or in the outfield in Indiana.

“Shortstop was a spot which needed to be filled and they put me there. I’ve enjoyed playing shortstop. On my club team — Iowa Premier — I play first base.”

Valtman said she’s ready to play wherever Drake needs her to play. She said she has had good coaches throughout her career so far and they have helped her develop her skills at the plate and at several defensive positions.

Valtman’s power and patience as a hitter has gotten the most notice of late.

“I know I used to like to hit inside pitches. As I’ve grown as a hitter, I’ve learned to hit the outside pitches better and to be patient on the change-up and react to the off-speed pitches,” Valtman said. “I feel like my powerhouse is against low pitches. I believe I can really drive those.”

Valtman said she’s ready to help the Drake lineup as a hitter. She’s looking forward to competing with the Bulldog players for fielding spots to help everyone on the team grow and improve.

“We’re excited for Emily. She’s worked hard for this opportunity,” Price said. “She’ll be right down the road from us so we can go watch her play at Drake.”

Price is a former standout Newton High player who went on to pitch at the University of Oklahoma. She’s also has coached at the college level before taking over the Newton team in 2018.

Valtman is the daughter of Susan and John Valtman.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535
or jsheets@newtondailynews.com