CNE catcher asserts herself in new role as leader
OWENSVILLE – Doom doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
In fact, Clermont Northeastern junior catcher Allison Gilkerson cut her competitive teeth with the Cincinnati Doom softball club, starting with the U10 team and eventually reaching the World Series in Texas as a U16 player.
CNE reached two straight regional finals largely on the strength of Emily Anderson’s pitching and the high-level play of six other seniors. Anderson is off wearing another blue-and-gold Rockets uniform for the University of Toledo, but Gilkerson remains behind the dish.
“It definitely helps having her back there,” said Rockets head coach Bill Goldfuss. “We lean on her a lot. Not only is she our catcher, but she’s our big bat in the third hole. We’ll go as far as she can take us.”
With only one senior on the roster - Abbi Pritchard - Gilkerson assumed a leadership role.
“I feel like I’m more aware of what’s going on on the field,” she said. “I feel like I have to let the freshmen know what to expect or where to be. I feel like I have to take the lead. It’s a huge role, but somebody has to do it. I love it. I’m in every pitch, every play.
“I feel like sometimes people get aggravated when I tell them something, but it’s just for the team. I feel like we have potential. We could win the league for sure and then in the tournament, who knows.”
Goldfuss likes the attitude.
“If you’ve got a veteran catcher, that’s huge,” he said. “She sees the whole field and knows what’s going on all around her. (Gilkerson) is more of a leader by example than getting up in people’s faces. We’re working on that, her being more of a vocal leader.
“Two years with Emily and just putting the glove up has made this year a little bit of an adjustment. She has to think more back there and she has to be more active than she ever has with a ball going high or low. If you don’t have that person who’s going right to the glove every time, it’s a lot more work for the catcher.
“I think we’re coming along. Once we get our defense set and the pitching is a little more consistent, we’ll be in good shape. We’ll be a lot better by the end of the season than where we started.”
The youngest of Dave and Angie Gilkerson’s three children may be asserting herself as a leader, but she followed her older siblings into CNE athletics.
Sister Ashley played soccer for the Rockets and is now pursuing a law degree at William and Mary in Virginia. Brother Alex played baseball and now studies at Ohio University, which is where Ashley got her undergraduate degree.
“I can see myself going there,” Allison said. “It’s become kind of a tradition and it’s a beautiful campus. I’m not sure if I want to play softball, though. It’s a lot of work and I may just have to concentrate on school.”
Gilkerson professed a love of animals and is considering a career as a veterinarian.
For now she’s happy as a self-described softball geek.
“It’s definitely fair to call me that,” Gilkerson said. “It’s pretty much what I do all the time outside of school. I go to the batting cages. I hit into the net in the back yard. I work on my throws down to second base. I just want to keep getting better and helping the team.”