K QUICK ON THE SCENE

By Ty Bartell

AUSTINTOWN OH- Would it be surprising if another Ray was shining athletically at Austintown-Fitch? Well adjust expectations accordingly, because Falcon freshman phenom Kaliana Ray is creating all the buzz for local athletics.

A three-sport athlete, featured this year in volleyball, basketball and currently softball. Getting solid playing time in the volleyball and basketball prior; however, with a younger softball team, Kaliana found herself any everyday starter as Fitch’s center fielder and lead off hitter. Batting a mind boggling .743 across 22 games so far this season, Ray leads The Falcons team in batting average, as well as hits (55), runs (48), on-base percentage (.771) and tied for first in walks (9)!
Reaching base often and when she is aboard she rapidly becomes the speedy base stealer “K-Quick” who has swiped 39 bases this season on 40 attempts! Not just an offensive threat, as The Falcons center field has been renamed Kali’s Island, where she is a perfect 1.000 in her fielding percentage, totaling 15 putouts and even an assist this season!

The future is bright and it’s another Ray causing the shine, as Kaliana credits a lot of her success to her older sister, Ayla, who Kali says “set the bar of success high for her.” A rare occurrence when the two oldest Ray sisters have gotten to play with one another on the diamond, which is why Kaliana has not taken the specialness of this season for granted.

Playing her first season for the defending Division I State Champions has been no easy task, but Ray has lived up to the challenge and excelled with flying colors as Austintown-Fitch is back in the State Final Four for the second consecutive season in part to what Kaliana has been able to do in all aspects of the game.

YSNs Ty Bartell gets the chance to talk with The Fitch center fielder about her success this season, her family support, some current goals and so much more! Catch this edition of Player Profile with K-quick if you can!

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