Kourtney Salvarola
By Pat O’Malley
Photos by Larry French
Broadneck High School
Softball & Volleyball
Talk about bursting onto the scene. Salvarola sure did last year as a freshman windmill pitcher/shortstop. She set a state record for homers (12), knocked in 41 runs and scored 38 while going 13-3 (two wins by 2-1 eventual 4A State Champion Chesapeake, regular season, and county championship) on the mound with a 1.37 ERA and 139 strikeouts in 107 innings to earn SUN All-Metro honors. Only a sophomore, Salvarola has already committed to a college, the University of South Florida. “It’s a trend in softball to verbal early even though you can’t sign until your junior year and after my visit, I thought South Florida was for me. I expect to pretty much play shortstop in college. I don’t pitch for my other teams (club, fall and summer). I only pitch in high school.” Her phenomenal early success in high school is the result of her work ethic and athleticism, according to Bruins’ coach James Ware. “Coach Kazmarek [Ken, Bruins’ athletic director and former basketball coach] and I talked about it, and think Kourtney might be the best female athlete at Broadneck,” said Ware, who is in his 10th season. Salvarola says her stepfather, Reese Kiple, got her started in softball at age five and encourages her to work out seven days a week hitting and pitching. “I love playing softball, '' said Salvarola, who has a 3.75 grade-point-average and plans to major in sports medicine when she gets to college. “It’s not like a job. It’s like something I do for fun. Practicing seven days a week will get me ready for college.” Her goal this season is to beat number one-ranked Chesapeake in the county and playoffs. “They’re [Chesapeake] our main rival, a huge rival,” said Salvarola. “Half the girls on my summer team play on Chesapeake, so that makes it a big rivalry.” Salvarola is the daughter of Reese and Karen Kiple.