Darton pitcher, catcher share deep friendship

ALBANY — There were days when the tears wouldn’t stop falling, when the heartbreak was too crushing to carry alone.

Then there were days when the smiles were bigger than life and the state championship celebrations were sweeter than they ever imagined.

Every day and every moment, Sommar Wright and Emily Church shared together.

The best friends who own an inseparable bond parted ways after graduating from Ragland (Ala.) High School in 2012, with Church heading off to the University of Mobile on a softball scholarship and Wright deciding to hang up her cleats and glove after leading Ragland to three straight AHSAA Class A state championships.

Now the life-long friends are back together at Darton State College, sharing new memories and trading even more smiles and tears.

The journey to Albany — where Wright and Church have become the cornerstone of a Darton softball team that is ranked 18th in the nation and is in first place in the Region XVII standings at 32-10 overall and 9-1 in the region — was long and at times tragic.

But it’s been a journey that has drawn the freshmen closer with every step and has given them an unbreakable bond. Wright, a right-handed pitcher, leads the region with a 10-4 record and has emerged as one of the Lady Cavs’ go-to arms. Church, a catcher, has been behind the plate for each of Wright’s pitches and is a monster with the bat, leading the region with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs.

Wright has a twin sister back in Ragland, but her friendship with Church runs deeper than blood.

“I’m closer to her than I am my own twin,” Wright said. “I wouldn’t have ever gone to play college softball if it wasn’t for (Church) dragging me here.”

The two became friends more than a decade ago back in kindergarten, and when they turned 8 years old they stepped on a softball field together.

“When she started pitching, I was still in the process of trying to find a position. Her dad and my dad sat down and talked about it and decided to try me at catching to see how we work together,” Church said. “They wanted to see if we could go somewhere in the long run with each other.”

Nobody dreamed how far the pair would actually go.

They starred on the same travel league team together and won a national championship when they were 10 years old. In high school, Wright threw every game for Ragland High her sophomore, junior and senior seasons and led the team to state championships each year. Church was behind the plate for the first two state title runs and moved to shortstop her senior year because of a knee injury.

The deeper they got into their journeys as softball players, the deeper their connection became.

“I can be behind the plate when she is pitching and can throw my glove up without giving her a sign, and it’s like we are twins,” Church said. “I know exactly what she is pitching without her telling me.”

Darton coach Eric Neel has seen the chemistry firsthand.

“You can tell a difference with Sommar in the circle when Emily is catching,” Neel said. “You could find the best catcher in America and put her back there, but if it’s not Emily she won’t be as comfortable.”

It was at the beginning of their sophomore seasons at Ragland when tragedy struck, binding the friends even closer.

In the fall of 2009, Wright’s father died in an auto accident. It was tragic, and it was sudden.

But it was a heartbreak the duo shared.

“It was really tough on all of us. He was like my second dad. He was like a dad to me. It was tough on both of us,” Church said. “I tried to actually not show (the heartbreak) as much because of her. I tried to be strong for her.”

Months later, Wright and Church took to the softball field and dedicated their season to Wright’s dad, an assistant coach at Ragland High.

“That was supposed to be his first year to actually coach me,” said Wright, who had moved back to Ragland prior to her sophomore season. “It was real motivating. It still is motivating.”

Inspired by his memory, they gave their school — which had just one state title in any sport in its history — three championship trophies. Not long after hoisting the third trophy, the best friends went their separate ways after graduation, but the Mobile-bound Church moved back home before even stepping on the field at the NAIA university because of a death in the family and an impending redshirt season.

After living and breathing softball for a decade, Wright and Church were both without a team for the 2013 season, but former Darton coach Larry Willis reached out to the duo and recruited them last summer. Church jumped at the opportunity to play for the Lady Cavs and then spent the summer convincing Wright to dust off her glove to join her.

Wright committed after a campus visit in late June, and in less than two months the two were back on the field together.

But then heartbreak crept back in to Wright’s life.

“We got here in August, and her great grandmother passed away the first week of school. By that time I was like, ‘Is she going to want to play or is she going to want to go home?’ ” Church said. “She decided to play, and I am proud of her more than anything because of what she went through. To get to where she is now, I am super proud of the way she has turned out and the way she is succeeding on the mound.”

Wright has won five of her last six starts and has lowered her ERA to 2.86 in one of the most competitive regions in the NJCAA.

Church picked up right where she left off in Ragland and is tied for third in the nation in home runs and ranks in the Top 2 in the region in home runs, RBIs, runs, doubles, hits and slugging percentage.

“They are a great foundation to build on next year. … To me you have to be solid up the middle, and that starts behind the plate,” Neel said. “The scary thing about that is that there is a lot of room for improvement for (Church) at the plate. She is getting better at understanding that people aren’t going to give her anything to hit the rest of this year. She has to hit their mistakes. She will get walked a lot if she is patient.”

Church’s success was no surprise to Wright.

“I don’t mean to sound rude, but she had this many (home runs) in high school,” Wright said with a smile and within earshot of Church. “But seriously, I am very happy for her. I told her I expected it and that I would be mad if she didn’t have a lot of (home runs).

“It’s great to have her here and us being together. That’s all we have ever wanted was to go off and play softball together. I guess we are making our dreams come true.”