Kayla Malkos, a senior at Cave Spring High School, signed her letter of intent on Wednesday, May 9, to play college level softball at Virginia Wesleyan, where she will play shortstop and second base. Friends, teammates and family members (mom Kim, dad Dan and sister Danielle) all looked on.

“She’s one in a million,” said CSHS varsity softball coach Lindsey Moore on Wednesday. “She’s the epitome of a triple threat. I try to hit a ball by her just to see if I can do it…Virginia Wesleyan is extremely lucky to be getting her.”

Malkos boasts some pretty outstanding stats from this year (read on for those numbers), and according to Moore, she was one for two in her game against Pulaski on Tuesday, hitting 500, which will probably boost her District stats even more, Moore said. Hidden Valley came out ahead with a final score of 9-0.

On the varsity softball team since Freshman year, a feat in and of itself, Malkos made first team all district softball last year, and second team all regional. Of eight seniors on the varsity team this year, Malkos is the only one to go on to play at the college level, according to Moore.

“She’s one of the best to come through our program at Cave Spring in a long time,” Moore said. For a player to have all of the tools is an achievement. “Literally, she has it all,” Moore said. “She has the skills, the attitude, the passion. She shows hustle and leadership, on and off the field. Players like that are really hard to come by. She’s a coach’s dream.”

Malkos considered Coastal Carolina and East Carolina Universities, but ultimately decided that the small campus and small classes at Virginia Wesleyan–with a total of 1,500 students–offered the best fit.

“I really like Division I,” Malkos said, but after speaking with some of her friends, she realized that “if you want to focus on your grades, Division III is best.” And while she would love to continue playing softball at a professional level (“I know once I stop [playing] I’m really going to miss it,” she said), Malkos wants to focus on her studies.

And that’s one thing playing softball has taught her. No matter what the goal, Malkos said, “if you want to be successful, you really do need to work so hard.”

Read on for Kayla Malkos’ statistics from this season.

Coach Lindsey Moore shares the following statistics for Malkos.

All:

• Avg.: .492
• AB: 59
• H: 29
• 2B: 5
• 3B: 2
• RBI: 8
• Slug: .644
• OB%: .516
• K’s: 4
• Runs: 18
• SB: 13
• PO: 23
• A: 35
• ER: 3
• Fld%: .951

District:

• Avg.: .64
• AB: 25
• H: 16
• 2B: 3
• 3B: 1
• RBI: 4
• Slug: .647
• OB%: .500
• K: 1
• SB: 3
• Runs: 7
• PO: 14
• A: 11
• ER: 0
• Fld %: 1.000