Instant varsity status
Russell shines for Latin Academy
Boston Latin Academy softball coach Rocco Zizza has never been shy about throwing a young player into varsity waters.
Even if that youngster happens to be a seventhgrader.
Michaela Russell cracked the lineup then and has spent the last five years proving she clearly belonged. Now a junior, Russell has been a mainstay behind the Boston City League’s premier softball program.
“First of all, she was a left-handed hitter,” Zizza said. “She can hit and run right away. We started her in the seventh grade and she’s started every single game for us.”
Russell certainly proved she could handle the pressure. She played a solid third base and came up with some key hits in helping the Dragons to a 13-9 record and a berth in the Division 3 North tournament.
“It was very intimidating,” Russell admitted. “I wasn’t playing my primary position (shortstop), but I wanted to make sure I was playing my best for the older girls. They were tough on me, but I learned so much from that and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.”
Challenges have been nothing new for Russell and Boston Latin Academy. Zizza annually sprinkles the nonleague slate with perennial contenders like Woburn, Norton, Braintree and Lincoln-Sudbury.
Russell manages to hold her own against the elite.
“I was shocked when I did her numbers,” Zizza said. “She usually hits about .500, but against those top pitchers, she is batting around 700.”
The program took its lumps for a while, but progress was made on an annual basis. Last year, Latin Academy went on a historic run, winning 23 games and becoming the first city school to advance to a sectional softball final.
“I never imagined we could get that far,” Russell said. “But we had a stellar pitcher (Olivia McGrath), we played a lot of suburban teams during the season and that prepared us for the tournament.”
The softball field isn’t the only place Russell can be seen preparing. An outstanding student (Zizza is her teacher in economics), Russell carries an impressive 4.2 grade point average, something she is very proud of.
“School always comes first. My GPA means everything to me,” Russell said. “A school like Latin Academy, they take academics very seriously, and I pride myself on doing well there. I’m hoping my GPA will get me into a good college.”