KENTWOOD – Going through a rebuilding process can be tough on a talented four-year varsity veteran, but Logan Navarro continues to do what she does best between the lines for the East Kentwood softball team.
The senior center fielder is a threat at the plate, meddlesome on the base paths, and often spectacular in the outfield.
“Logan is having a great season,” first-year East Kentwood coach Owen Fletke said. “Offensively, Logan has picked up right where she left off last year. Defensively, she is the finest center fielder I have seen in 20 years of coaching softball.
“She is a quarterback in the outfield, making sure the other outfielders are properly positioned. Logan's tremendous speed allows her to cover a lot of ground and run down just about every ball hit her way. In addition, she has the strongest arm I've ever seen in an outfielder and recently threw out a runner at first base from deep center field.”
Navarro is batting .375 and leads the Falcons in run scored, RBI, and stolen bases.
“When Logan gets on base, good things happen for our team,” Fletke said. “She is a smart, instinctual base runner.”
As a junior, Navarro led the Falcons in at-bats and doubles, and ranked second in batting average, hits, runs scored, home runs, and stolen bases en route to all-conference honors in the OK Red.
“Logan is a tremendous competitor and leader, and this year she has challenged herself to be even better,” Fletke said. “She is very vocal during games and after games, as we talk about continual improvement. She takes her responsibility as a team captain very seriously.
“She leads by example, spending a lot of time hitting off batting tees, in the cage, and taking extra outfield practice. She works with the other outfielders on footwork, positioning, and throwing to cut-offs. Even though her high school career is winding down, she is putting in more work than ever.
“She is finishing strong.”
Some of Navarro's most outstanding plays occur in the outfield.
“Logan makes big, highlight plays in center field every game we play,” Fletke said. “She is consistently running down and catching balls hit to the gaps, to the fence, or in short center field. She dives, she reaches up, and she chases them down.
“She gives a superlative effort all of the time.”
A strong student with a weighted grade-point average over 4.0, Navarro is involved in several musical and theater programs at East Kentwood.
“She is an extremely well-rounded young lady,” Fletke said. “Logan makes others around her better by leading, teaching, helping, talking, and competing. She is always pushing herself to improve, which rubs off on others. Logan has a fun, happy, effusive personality and is always smiling. At the same time, she self-critiques and is not happy with poor play and losing.”
Despite winning just three of their first 25 games, Navarro and Co. have remained positive.
“You really find out about a person's character when things are not going well and you are in a rebuilding season,” Fletke said. “Logan's character has been high off of the charts during this season, and she has maintained her positive and enthusiastic persona all season.
“We compete in a very competitive conference and every team we play is very good. I would put Logan up against the best player on any of those teams.”
