Five Hitters Putting Together An Impressive Summer

The summer months can be every bit as important as those of the spring in terms of keeping a softball player's skills sharp and raising one's recruiting stock.   A great season during the high school schedule can translate to similar—or even better—fortunes during the pivotal club softball months.   Without further ado, here are five hitters who have made things treacherous for opposing pitchers on the field this summer.    Caroline Ozmun's travel schedule with New England Unity 18U began recently at the NE College Showcase in Devens in north-central Massachusetts with other events scheduled throughout July. She and her team competed in four contests throughout that weekend and she managed a pair of doubles, an RBI plus a .400 average. Anyone who has watched Ozmun's work with Hopkinton could see that she would continue her stellar work at the plate during the summer travel ball season. Ozmun was a key reason why the Hillers concluded the 2025 campaign with a 23-4 record and a berth in the state semifinals. Ozmun batted .349 at Hopkinton this past season with 10 doubles, three triples and 39 runs plated.      Back at the beginning of the year, Layla Ogden declared her commitment to Western Kentucky. Before she embarks on her collegiate journey with the Hilltoppers, she has a bit of business to take care of in the high school and travel scenes. She plays with Louisville Lady Sluggers Huecker-Norwood 16U, a club squad teeming with collegiate commits that recently took part in the Scenic City Top 25 tournament and finished 4-0 in pool play. The travel team belted 15 home runs with six of them came off of Ogden's bat. To use common softball/baseball vernacular, Ogden led the (Kentucky) world in home runs with 24 and RBIs with 75. Her South Warren team concluded the 2025 season with a record of 34-4.      Speaking of names that also participated in the Scenic City Top 25 tournament just outside of Chattanooga in June, Layna Ayala did that with her Florida-based Fury Platinum X – Hutchins squad. On June 19, Ayala's team finished 2-0 and she was one of five players who launched home runs over the outfield fence. She followed that performance up with another bomb the following day as her team concluded pool play as the top seed in their bracket. The team finished in the top eight of the tournament. Ayala is a two-sport athlete who also participates in volleyball at the junior varsity level. She followed up a freshman season during which she batted .432 by hitting .495 as a sophomore with 16 home runs and 46 runs driven in for 6A Melbourne.     Sloane Merrell typically draws headlines across Nevada (and beyond) for what she does in the circle, but she has also displayed an ability to get the job done with her bat and her left arm. She wears the Lady Magic Munoz uniform during the summer months and drove in five RBIs plus one home run in a recent tournament. Merrell was part of a Centennial team that finished 20-15 this past season and advanced to the 5A state championship game. She batted .475 this spring with seven home runs and 25 RBIs in addition to 16 doubles for the Bulldogs, on top of the 2.18 ERA and 126 strikeouts she posted as a pitcher.     Kaelyn Deckerd is another prospect who gives opponents a tough time both in the circle and at the dish. We recently featured her in <a href="https://prepsoftball.com/2025/06/27/five-players-built-for-the-college-game/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an article about players who are built for the college game</a>. Deckerd's St. Louis Chaos squad was another one of the teams that made its presence known in the north Georgia mountains at Scenic City. Deckerd batted .429 with two home runs. One of those bombs occurred in a 6-5 victory over Unity 14U 2028 Attard/Hagen out of central Virginia and it was of the walk-off variety. The 2028 prospect from Oak Ridge in Missouri is rapidly rising up the ranks. She hit .678 this year with nine home runs and 31 RBIs on top of going 20-3 with a 0.55 ERA in the circle. Deckerd led the Blue Jays to a 25-3 record in 2025. She is a multi-sport athlete who also plays volleyball and basketball.

The summer months can be every bit as important as those of the spring in terms of keeping a softball player's skills sharp and raising one's recruiting stock.