Emily Wethington sat down with The Post's Rob Mixer to talk about everything from a possible entry song to growing up in New Palestine, Ind. Wethington is a pitcher on the Ohio softball team and is 9-11 with a 4.51 ERA. She also has a .324 batting average with four home runs and 18 RBIs.
The Post: How would you feel if you had your own theme song when you come into games?
Emily Wethington: (Laughs) My own theme song? Wow, I don't know. I would like to think I would still do things in the same order before I come in. But maybe I'd do some sort of Rocky run out on to the field.
Post: Your mom and dad are around the team a lot and support you. Do you feed off their energy?
Wethington: I hear my mom all the time, but my dad is good to feed off, too. My mom has always been there to cheer me on, and it's always a positive thing for me to hear when she's yelling Come on
Em! or something like that. My dad's always the one I look to during the game, just because he's there shaking his head, nodding like You can do it. My mom is the one that pumps me up and keeps it positive, and my dad is a get-down-to-business kind of guy.
Post: Would you rather strike out with the bases loaded as a hitter or load the bases as a pitcher?
Wethington: That's a hard question. I would probably rather strike out swinging, because that means I went down with a battle rather than just giving up a walk. With that, you just give it to them. I would like to at least battle my way to get a hit.
Post: Describe your hometown, New Palestine, Ind..
Wethington: It's a lot smaller than Athens. There is one stop light and it has one grocery store, a gas station and a McDonald's. It's kind of a country town. I live on the outskirts of New Palestine, so I live by a cow farm and (there's) a cornfield by my house. Our neighbors are spread out, too. It's more of a farm area than anything. One of the high schools down the road has Drive Your Tractor to School Day so it's one of those kind of towns.
Post: Being from a small town, what attracted you to Ohio?
Wethington: I've always gone to smaller schools, so this wasn't too different from back home. There were 17 kids in my grade school. My high school graduating class had eight people, so I like the small school aspect. But at the same time, I wanted to go to a bigger school so I could meet people and grow as a person and learn more about myself.
Post: Do you feel bad when you hit someone with your fastball?
Wethington: Well, normally it's not a fastball that hits batters. But, yeah, I kind of feel bad when it does happen. If you're talking about the Central Michigan game, that was supposed to be a screwball, but it hit her in the back, so that was a mistake. But it happens, and I don't like to show it because it lets them know I'm off my game.
Post: What's something your teammates might not know about you?
Wethington: I'm a pretty open person. I would like to move to Italy some day and start an event planning business. It's a place I've always waited to visit, and I want to be a wedding planner. It would be hard to separate from my family since we're all so close, but that's one of my goals.
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Sports
Rob Mixer
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Ohio right-hander Emily Wethington pitches the ball during the Bobcats
