BAKER — Tori Foster starts her last season on Baker School’s softball team next week with her athletic future secured.
When Foster takes the diamond next spring, she also will be a pioneer of sorts.
Foster, who also played soccer for the Gators, signed a softball scholarship Friday with Florida Southwestern State College in Fort Myers. The Buccaneers are reviving their athletic program after an almost 20-year absence.
One would never know if Foster is concerned about playing in an upstart program. If anything, she is embracing the opportunity to play for Florida high school coaching legend Robert Iamurri, the winningest high school coach in the state’s history.
“It gives me a chance to get better and to get where I want to be in life,” she said. “I was just attracted to the school and the coach.”
Foster has spent most of her Gator career as catcher or in centerfield, and she expects that to continue for the Buccaneers.
About the only real drawback to being so far from home is she won’t be able to see her parents as much as she would like.
Gator softball Coach John Carlisle praised Foster for putting in the work needed to reach her goal of playing college ball.
“It’s a lot of work on her part, playing travel ball and then continuing to get better,” he said. “I just nurture those things. The last four years having her in class – she’s a field rat.
“She wants to be out on that field. She wants to compete and she wants to get better.”
Whatever position Foster plays, she will help the Buccaneers, Carlisle says.
“She’s just a well-rounded athlete that can play multiple places,” he said. “She has a good head for the game of softball and pretty much wherever you put her she’s going to shine.”
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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker's Foster signs softball scholarship (VIDEO)