Columbus East center fielder Savanna Sullivan (15), shortstop Jade Hampton (22) and second baseman Lola Watkins (12) close in on a pop-fly during a game against Hauser at Columbus East High School.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
Savanna Sullivan has been a three-sport athlete this year as a key player on Columbus East’s volleyball, basketball and softball teams.
But it was a sport that Sullivan played in elementary and middle schools that created the tenaciousness that she has shown on the court and field in high school.
Football.
Sullivan played PAAL football while in elementary school and then at Northside Middle School. She gave up that sport to play volleyball in high school, but the physical and mental toughness remained.
“It definitely taught me to just kind of deal with different people and their attitudes because playing football is definitely not something that everybody thought that I should be playing,” Sullivan said. “So it definitely taught me to just kind of ignore people and go with it. I had those few kids that were really supportive and kind of just guided me and helped me out. So I want to be that role model for other kids and just help the younger kids out since I once was that kid.”
Sullivan has been one of those role models as a senior, especially in softball this spring. She and Addy Ross, who are in their fourth years in the Olympian softball program, have taken over the leadership role from Kenzie Foster and Kaylee Cole, who now are playing Division I college softball.
“It’s definitely been different without our seniors last year because they were kind of our big leaders, and everybody kind of looked up to them,” Sullivan said. “So it’s been a big role to step in. But I feel like I and the other seniors have been doing a pretty decent job. We try to guide the underclassmen as much as we can and help them out.”
“She’s a three-sport athlete, so when she was in those other sports, we didn’t expect her to come to our stuff,” East coach Rusty Brummett added. “But as soon as she was able to get to our practices and our workouts, she was someone the other players could look up to. She’s not necessarily a real vocal leader, but she’s someone who leads by example of hard work with taking extra swings when she needs to and taking extra fly balls.”
Columbus East’s Savanna Sullivan waits for a pitch during a game at Columbus North.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
That extra work has paid off this spring for Sullivan. The center fielder ranked second on the team with a .353 batting average and four home runs and led the Olympians with 12 runs scored going into Tuesday night’s game at Jennings County.
“She finished off the season pretty well last year and has really carried it over into this season,” Brummett said. “From her freshman year when she was thrown into the outfield until now, from tracking fly balls and angles, which isn’t easy to teach, she’s picked that up really well.”
Sullivan also is third on the team with seven RBIs, despite batting in the leadoff spot in most games.
“We’ve moved her around in different spots in the lineup to find out which spots work best, and we’re probably not done moving it around,” Brummett said. “She’s been accepting of hitting first and hitting second and hitting fourth. She even caught for us one game. We warned her coming into the season that she may have to catch a game here or there depending on injuries and who we have healthy, and she was fine with it.”
Columbus East’s Savanna Sullivan (seated) watches the action during a game at Columbus North.
Tommy Walker | For The Republic
East began the season 6-3, but had slipped to 7-8 following a brutal week last week against all sectional or Hoosier Hills Conference opponents.
“Our younger girls have definitely stepped up to the challenge, and they’ve definitely been working hard,” Sullivan said. “So I think it’s been going pretty good for how young of a team we are.”
Savanna Sullivan
Sullivan has played softball the longest of any of her sports. She started at age 3 and began playing travel softball two years ago. She recently committed to play collegiately at Huntington University.
Before that though, Sullivan wants to finish her East career with a bang.
“I’m definitely hoping that we can do good in our conference and win our sectional,” Sullivan said. “We definitely have the potential this year, and I think that if we work hard and keep going at the rate we’re going, we definitely have a chance to win those. We’re definitely moving forward instead of backwards, and we’re getting better and improving every game, so if our hitting steps up a little bit, I think that we should be able to win sectional.”
