Prairie Grove’s Madison Cluck’s Personality Catching

PRAIRIE GROVE — Madison Cluck, of Prairie Grove, has a personality that is catching, quite literally.

“Madison is one of those girls that nobody can dislike,” said her mother, Rhonda Pace. “She is so well-received, the teachers adore her, coaches adore her and parents of all her friends. She is welcome in their home anytime.”

Cluck plays catcher for the Prairie Grove Lady Tigers softball team and the world of sports has has been an ideal venue for introducing her outgoing personality to teammates and competitors alike. One of her closests friends is Jordin Smith from U.S. 62 and 4A-1 Conference rival, Farmington.

While Pace admits there is a big rivalry between the two schools, Cluck’s personality seems to shine above the competition like a rainbow gracing the landscape after a storm. When the game is over, it doesn’t matter who won or lost the friendship remains.

“My daughter is like one of those children that every school loves her,” Pace said. “Jordin’s family has been super to Madison.”

“If we’re on the same team, we get along great,” Smith said. “It’s the whole Farmington/ Prairie Grove rivalry, we’ve got to act like we can’t stand each other.”

Smith’s mother, Lorinda, said there can be some intense moments in the heat of competition, especially when Jordin is batting and Madison is catching. The best friends don’t talk to each other, preferring to let their friendship go silent temporarily in favor of a show of mutual respect for an oppo- nent.

When the teams switch and the Lady Cardinals are on defense, Smith knows, as a pitcher, she will face Cluck at the plate.

“It’s kind of a plus for me, too, because I know what all she can really hit,” Smith said, admitting she knows which pitches not to throw against Cluck.

During this past season, Cluck, who wants to making a living from softball, had her career hit a bump in the road when she had her appendix taken out on April 6. Pace recalled being surprised by a knock on the door at 10:30 at night to find the Prairie Grove coach checking on her daughter.

“It was Chris Collins, his wife and family. They drove from Pea Ridge all the way out to our house,” Pace said.

Cluck was determined not to stay sidelined for long and begged her surgeon to give her clearance to play a week after surgery.

“I remember going in there and begging and begging Dr. Petrino to let me play,” Cluck said. “He said since I was healing up so good and so fast he gave me clearance. It could have been and ended up being our last game of the year.”

Smith said the girls were texting back and forth and some of what Cluck said didn’t sense.

“You don’t realize how much you use your stomach muscles until you have surgery like that, then everything hurts,” Cluck said.

Cluck also looks out for Smith, who wears a pump to regulate her blood sugar because of juvenile diabetes.

“I’ve been around her so much I can tell if she’s feeling sick and when she’s not and if she needs to give herself insulin,” Cluck said. “She’s usually doing good unless she gets way too hot. Then, I’m like, ‘You need to sit down cause you could get sick.’”

Back in the lineup at the district tournament held at Farmington, Cluck had an impact by single- handedly accounting for a triple play against Gentry. Pace recalled the batter hit a high pop fly which Cluck went after.

“She jumps up, she dives backwards with the ball, gets the girl out that’s running home, then jumps up and throws out the girl at the third,” Pace said. “She just did that all unassisted. It was happened so fast, we just didn’t realize what happened.”

“It made me feel pretty good. My stomach was awfully sore afterwards,” Cluck said. “There was a lot of people screaming and yelling.”

“We’re very blessed with the little girl I’ve got,” Pace said. She’s quite a ball player.”

MARK HUMPHREY