Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Moreton Among Class Of Outstanding Freshmen
IMPACT PLAYERS ARE CREATING QUITE A STIR IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS SOFTBALL
LINCOLN — Opponents dazed by Brinkley Moreton’s prowess at the plate (10 homers, 38 RBIs) or in the chalked circle (116 strike outs) may not realize they’re witnessing a walking miracle.
Brinkley’s impact for Lincoln varsity softball as a dynamic two-way player serves as a double whammy for opponents.
Coming into Thursday’s game against rival Prairie Grove, which has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 9 due to winter weather sweeping across the region, Brinkley recorded no less than 116 strike outs while pitching 58 innings. She has thrown two “no hitters” and one perfect game while alternating starts with Amber Bryant, whose one class ahead of her, posturing Lincoln’ softball program with a bright future.
New State RBI Record
And while opponents struggle to get hits off the hard- throwing freshman, their frustration gets compounded when trying to get her out. She’s proved just as dangerous at the plate as she is in the chalked circle. As of Thursday, Brinkley’s drove in 38 runs for the season, including a state record 10 RBIs in a Monday, March 28 game one of a double-header against Greenland.
Brinkley went 3-for-4 with a double and two home runs driving in 10 runs which broke the state record for an individual in a game. The previous record was 9 RBIs in a game set by Batesville’s Haley Hambrick in 2014.
Lincoln coach Brittany Engel saluted Brinkley’s accomplishment by batting in every single run for the Lady Wolves, yet summarized the two double-header wins (10-1 and 18-1) over Greenland as a team win.
“Brinkley definitely held her own in the pitching circle and in the batter’s box, but if there wouldn’t have been anybody else on base she wouldn’t have had anybody to hit in. Everyone was hitting the ball, everyone was doing their part in the field. It was just a great team win,” Engel said.
Crisis Last Spring
Nearly one year ago a crisis manifested and Brinkley’s future in softball seemed uncertain. When Brinkley, then an eighth grader, uncharacteristically kept complaining about pain in her arm her parents, Dax and Christina Moreton, of Summers, knew something was wrong.
An ultrasound revealed a blood clot in Brinkley’s right arm, the one she pitches, bats with, and throws with. She was admitted to Arkansas Children’s Hospital Northwest in Springdale on April 29, 2021.
Doctors advised that Brinkley would receive shots in her belly to help dissolve the blood clot. They didn’t put a timetable on how long this unpleasant treatment might last and Christina didn’t look forward to administering the shots once Brinkley got out of the hospital.
A hematologist examined Brinkley the next day and the Moretons were told the blood clot was caused by her pectoralis minor muscle with an official diagnosis pointing towards Paget Schroetter Syndrome, which constricted the flow of blood to her arm.
Miracle Girl
The prognosis challenged Brinkley and her parents’ faith when doctors said she wouldn’t be able to play any kind of sport with a ball last summer.
Brinkley was expected to be on blood thinners for at least six weeks followed by surgery to repair the problem, which doctors told them might involve cutting a blood vessel or muscle. Doctors said they wouldn’t know what they needed to do until they got to that point.
None of that played out as predicted.
Robin Thomas, of Russellville, contacted the Moretons and suggested they seek treatment from Dr. Robert Thompson, one of a handful of doctors in the nation who specializes in treating the rare condition, at St. Louis’ Barnes Jewish Hospital.
On Friday, May 14, 2021, Dr. Thompson reviewed a venogram which showed no blood clots, no scarring, and no compressions. Surgery wasn’t needed. Brinkley was switched to an oral medication and given medical clearance to hit, pitch, play volleyball and practice softball.
He really couldn’t give an explanation or a cause of the clots, and said he wished his veins looked like Brinkley’s. Dr. Thompson revealed he thought it was going to turn out differently, but he had no reasoning as to why things were so different than two weeks earlier.
“We are giving full credit to the Lord above for this. There really is no other explanation of all the things that transpired that led us to St. Louis,” Christina Moreton stated.
Pounding Out Hits
Physically, Brinkley feels good — a year removed from medical challenges. She admits to being kind of scared last spring going back into softball yet celebrates her opportunities.
“I was kind of scared going into it because I started last year with travel ball. It was a little rough, but after I got started going back into the swing of things it was good and I’ve been getting better and I’ve been working every day to be what I used to be,” Brinkley said.
Coming into this week Brinkley has knocked out 29 hits with 9 singles, 6 doubles, 4 triples and 10 home runs. She’s scored 32 runs and stolen 8 bases while striking out only once in 44 at-bats with 15 walks. Her slugging percentage stands out at 1.659 with an on-base percentage of .754 and a .659 batting average.
Not all have been able to come back from the adversity that Brinkley underwent and experience her level of athletic success.
“You would never know that now, that’s for sure. It’s pretty impressive how quickly she bounced back and she’s right back at it,” Engel said.
Brinkley’s travel ball teammate, Makenzie Freeman, another talented freshman pitcher who led Class 3A Hackett to back-to-back wins over Class 4A Gravette and tournament host Farmington before losing to Class 6A power Bentonville West, 5-4, in the Farmington Invitation says the biggest difference between high school softball and travel ball lies in the makeup of the rosters. When she and Brinkley play for the NWA Tulsa Elite NWA06 the players are all from different communities.
“The people on our teams are a lot different. They’re honestly a lot the same in most things like I have another girl on my travel team who plays with me so it’s kind of the same thing really,” Freeman said.
State Wide Recognition
“I heard Brinkley Moreton is the real deal,” said a Farmington fan during the Farmington Invitational tournament.
Siloam Springs wouldn’t argue. The Lady Panthers needed a bases-loaded double up the middle by their freshman center fielder, Kaidence Prendergast, to edge past Lincoln 7-6 on Monday, March 7 at La-Z-Boy Softball Complex. Prendergast finished with 2 hits, 4 RBIs and a run scored, some of that came on a 2-run homer as part of six runs scored by Siloam Springs in the third inning.
The Herald- Leader reported Siloam Springs coach Emily Grace Ruggeri describing Prendergast as a freshman who has a lot of potential. Thus far the Lady Panthers have asked her to do a lot of things, like playing center field and pitching.
“She can also hit. We have a lot of confidence in her. I’m really excited to see what all she’s going to do in her career here,” Ruggeri said.
Against Siloam Springs Brinkley had a huge day at the plate for the Lady Wolves with a pair of home runs and 4 RBIs. Ryleigh Landrum added a double for Lincoln. Lincoln pushed 3 runs across in the top of the first inning, including a 2-run homer by Brinkley, who gave the Lady Panthers all they wanted.
Brinkley sent another two-run shot out of the ballpark to pull Lincoln within 6-5. She took over the pitching duties and threw 3 scoreless innings before yielding an RBI in the bottom of the seventh.
In the top of the seventh Brinkley singled and went on to score on Amber Bryant’s base hit to tie the game. She finished with 3 hits, 4 RBIs and 3 runs scored.
Enjoying High School
Engel describes Brinkley as a special player, who plays 365 days a year, travels all year long and puts in the work to excel.
Brinkley’s thoroughly enjoyed her freshman year at Lincoln High School. In the fall she was selected as a maid in the Homecoming court and is proud to show better grades than middle school. She said Lincoln High School principal, Stan Karber, gives an impression that he wants to see each student succeed.
“That was a big boost. Mr. Karber makes it a lot of fun up there so that’s a lot better. I feel like all my friends are there because I’m friends with all the girls on the softball team,” Brinkley said.
Mr. Karber recently called her out on a social media live video as part of his initiative to recognize achievements via a student spotlight. Even before that moment, Brinkley welcomed Karber’s ongoing encouragement, “He’s always talking to us, pepping us up. He’s around, he’s there for us all the time. He lets us know that he’s going to support us.”