Callista Balko

Last updated

Callista Jo Balko (born April 4, 1986) [1] is an American, former collegiate right-handed hitting pro softball catcher and second baseman. She played for the Arizona Wildcats softball team from 2005 to 2008 and won back-to-back National Championships for the Wildcats. She is the Pac-12 Conference career leader in putouts. She is currently a college athletics administrator.

Contents

Career

Born in Tucson, Arizona, Balko graduated from Canyon del Oro High School in nearby Oro Valley in 2004. [1]

At the University of Arizona, Balko played at catcher for the Arizona Wildcats softball team from 2005 to 2008. Balko debuted on February 4, 2005, against the Tulsa Hurricanes, collecting a hit and walk in her first game. [2] As part of the team that won the 2006 Women's College World Series, Balko helped the Wildcats into the finals by helping drive in a run off National Player of The Year Cat Osterman on June 2; her hit was the first and only in 10 at bats against the southpaw, 9 of which had ended in strikeouts. In the championship finale on June 6, Balko had two hits including a double and drove in 2 RBIs for the school's sixth title. [3] For the 2007 Women's College World Series finale, Balko tallied a hit against 2007 National Player of the Year Monica Abbott as the Wildcats defeated Tennessee 5–0 on June 6. [4] [5] Balko singled in her last appearance on May 31, 2008, in a loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide at that year's World Series. [6] [7] [8] [9]

In January 2008, Balko was named to the watchlist for USA Softball National Player of the Year. [10]

Balko is also a World University Games member and an Olympic Camp Tryout Invitee. Balko was signed as an undrafted free agent by the National Pro Fastpitch team Washington Glory, and had her debut for the team in June 2008. [11] After a few months on the term, she returned to Tucson. [12]

In January 2012, Balko became Alumni Letterwinners Development Assistant with the University of Arizona athletics department. She later became Director of Regional Development. [13]

Personal life

In 2015, Balko married Ricky Elmore, an NFL defensive end who played college football at Arizona. [14]

Statistics

|+Arizona Wildcats

YEAR G AB R H BA RBI HR 3B 2B TB SLG BB SO SB SBA
2005511461230.2052351754.370%185000
2006651782648.26944130794.528%346534
2007651863143.23132100376.408%225545
2008571603142.262391511099.618%295302
TOTALS238670100163.24313843227323.482%103223711

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennie Finch</span> American softball player (born 1980)

Jennie Lynn Finch Daigle is an American former softball player. She played for the Arizona Wildcats softball team from 1999 to 2002, where she won the 2001 Women's College World Series and was named collegiate All-American. Later she led the United States women's national softball team to the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She also pitched for the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch from 2005 to 2010.

John Michael Candrea is the former head softball coach and served as interim Athletic Director between Feb. 2 and March 3, 2024 at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. He was the head coach of the United States women's national softball team in 2004, when Team USA won a gold medal, and in 2008, bringing home silver. At the time of his retirement in 2021, Candrea was the all-time winningest coach in college softball history, and ranked fourth of any coach in any NCAA sport with 1,674 wins.

Alicia Kay Hollowell-Dunn is an American, former collegiate four-time All-American, retired professional softball pitcher and assistant coach. She played college softball at Arizona Wildcats softball from 2003 to 2006, collecting 144 career wins and 1,768 strikeouts, both top-10 NCAA career records. She currently holds the Arizona Wildcats records for career strikeouts, shutouts and innings pitched, in addition to the Pac-12 Conference wins and strikeout ratio records. Hollowell won the 2006 Women's College World Series.

Leah Marie O'Brien-Amico is an American, former college softball outfielder and sports commentator. She is currently the head coach for the Florida Vibe of the Association of Fastpitch Professionals (AFP). She is best known for playing college softball at Arizona from 1993 to 1997, winning three National Championships, and earning gold medals at the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. She is a USA Softball Hall of Fame honoree.

The 2007 NCAA Division I softball tournament was held from May 17 through June 4, 2007. 64 NCAA Division I college softball teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament, to play in the NCAA Tournament. The tournament culminated with eight teams playing in the Women's College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taryne Mowatt</span> American softball player

Taryne Lee Mowatt is an American, former collegiate All-American, right-handed hitting, retired pro softball pitcher. Mowatt is the current pitching coach for Mississippi State. She played college softball at Arizona and helped them win the 2006 and 2007 Women's College World Series. From 2008 to 2013, Mowatt played professionally in National Pro Fastpitch, selected in the 2008 NPF draft by the Washington Glory. She ranks in several pitching categories for the Wildcats and holds the Women's College World Series records for strikeouts and wins.

Lovieanne Jung is a Filipino-American, former collegiate All-American, two-time medal winning Olympian, retired softball player. She began her college softball career at Fresno State as a second baseman, then transferred to Arizona and played as a shortstop. She represented the United States women's national softball team winning a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caitlin Lowe</span> Softball player

Caitlin Faith Lowe-Nagy is the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats softball team. Lowe is a former collegiate four-time first team All-American and medal winning Olympian. She played college softball for Arizona and led her team in back-to-back Women's College World Series championships in 2006 and 2007. She won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Lowe played with National Pro Fastpitch's USSSA Pride for six seasons, winning three titles and being named 2012 Player of the Year, before officially retiring in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona Wildcats softball</span> College softball team

The Arizona Wildcats softball team represents the University of Arizona in NCAA Division I Softball. Having claimed eight national championships, the team is one of the most successful in the history of the sport. It plays its home games at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium in Tucson, AZ. The team was formerly coached by Mike Candrea, who began his UA coaching career in 1986 and announced his retirement on June 8, 2021. He retired as the all time winningest coach in Collegiate softball history with 1,674 wins, more Collegiate national titles with 8 and the fourth most wins of any coach in any NCAA sport.

Amelia Jenae Leles is an American, former collegiate All-American, softball third baseman. She attended Rio Americano High School and the University of Arizona, winning two titles with the Wildcats during her years playing from 2006 to 2009. With United States women's national softball team she won 2011 World Cup of Softball. Jenae was named to the 2012 Women's National Team. She was also drafted number 6 in the National Pro Fastpitch.

Jenny Dalton-Hill is an American former collegiate All-American softball player and current sports commentator. She played for the Arizona Wildcats from 1993 to 1996 where she won three Women's College World Series championships. Having also played baseball, Dalton-Hill is a former member of the Colorado Silver Bullets and United States women's national baseball team, earning a bronze medal at the 2010 Women's Baseball World Cup. She holds the career Pac-12 and NCAA Division I records in RBIs. She is the first and one of nine NCAA players to hit .400 with 200 RBIs, 50 home runs and an .800 slugging percentage in her career.

Francisco Sancet was a baseball coach and catcher. He served as the head baseball coach at the University of Arizona from 1950 to 1972, compiling a record of 831–275–10. He played college baseball for Phoenix College from 1926 to 1927 before transferring to Arizona where he played for coach Pop McKale from 1928 to 1929 before playing professionally.

Wendy Jo Allen Hauser is an American, former collegiate All-American, left-handed hitting professional All-Star softball pitcher and former coach. She played for two NCAA Division I teams: Ohio State Buckeyes 2001-02 and the Arizona Wildcats from 2003-04. She was named the Big Ten Conference Player of the Year in 2002 and a NFCA First-Team All-American at Arizona in 2004. She was later selected 21st in the National Pro Fastpitch draft and played in 2004, being named an All-Star. She is a softball record holder for Ohio State.

Chelsea Kathleen Goodacre is an American professional softball catcher. Goodacre played college softball for the Arizona Wildcats from 2012 to 2015. She currently plays for the independent USSSA Pride and played for United States women's national softball team. She won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 2017. She was undrafted but later went on to play in the National Pro Fastpitch and be named an All-Star and win two championships with the Pride.

Kristie Lynn Fox is an American, former collegiate All-American softball shortstop and current head coach for UNLV Rebels softball team. She attended Mt. Carmel High School and later played for the Arizona Wildcats softball team from 2004 to 2007. Fox led the Wildcats to back-to-back Women's College World Series championships in 2006 and 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor McQuillin</span> American softball player

Taylor Elizabeth McQuillin is a Mexican-American, former collegiate All-American, 2020 Olympian, professional softball pitcher. She played college softball at Arizona, where she was a starting pitcher. In her senior year, McQuillin led Arizona softball to a berth in the 2019 Women's College World Series after being absent for nearly a decade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dejah Mulipola</span> American softball player

Dejah Monique Mulipola is an American professional softball catcher for the Oklahoma City Spark of Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF). She played college softball at Arizona from 2017 to 2021 where she was twice named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association First Team All-American. She has been a member of the United States women's national softball team since 2019 and helped them win a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She played in Athletes Unlimited Softball where she won the 2022 championship as the top individual points leader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danielle O'Toole-Trejo</span> American softball player

Danielle Denise O'Toole-Trejo is a former professional softball pitcher and current assistant coach for Stanford. She played college softball for San Diego State and Arizona. She graduated and was selected eighth overall in the National Pro Fastpitch draft by the Chicago Bandits, which she has played with on and off for three seasons. She played in the inaugural season of the Athletes Unlimited Softball league.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tamara Statman</span> American-Israeli softball player (born 1997)

Tamara Schoen is an American-Israeli softball player. She is a former collegiate Academic All-American, left-handed hitting designated hitter and pinch hitter originally from San Diego, California. She was a stand-out pitcher from Horizon High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. She went on to play college softball at the University of Arizona from 2015-2019. She was on the 2017 PAC-12 Championship Team and made an appearance at the Women's College World Series in 2019.

Jessica "Jessie" Ireland Harper is an American, former collegiate All-American, softball player. Harper played college softball for Arizona from 2017 to 2021 at the shortstop position and co-holds the career home runs record for the school and conference with former teammate Katiyana Mauga. Harper is a four-time first-team all-conference honoree and also ranks second all-time for homers in the NCAA Division I. Harper redshirted her senior year in 2020 after the college season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and returned to play in 2021. Harper was selected No. 6 in the Athletes Unlimited Softball draft.

References

  1. 1 2 "Player Bio: Callista Balko". ArizonaWildcats.com. University of Arizona. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  2. ↑ "#2 Arizona at Tulsa" (PDF). Tulsahurricane.com. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  3. ↑ "# 13 NORTHWESTERN WILDCAT (50-15) -VS- # 1 ARIZONA WILDCATS (54-11)". Arizonawildcats.com. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  4. ↑ "# 5 TENNESSEE (63-8) -VS- # 1 ARIZONA (50-14-1)". Arizonawildcats.com. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  5. ↑ "UA's Balko never balked about catching situation". Arizona Daily Star . June 8, 2006. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Cats Downed, Out of WCWS". Arizonawildcats.com. May 31, 2008. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Arizona Softball Record Book" (PDF). Arizonawildcats.com. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Pac-12 Conference 2020 Softball Media Guide". E-digitaleditions.com. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Division I Records" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Balko, Mowatt put on softball's top player list". Tucson Citizen. January 31, 2008. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Taryne Mowatt, Callista Balko & Cambria Miranda Make Their Glory Debut". Our Sports Central. June 19, 2008. Retrieved March 10, 2010.("University of Arizona stand-outs Pitcher Taryne Mowatt and Catcher Callista Balko, and utility stand-out player Cambria Miranda, formerly of Oregon State University, don their Washington Glory uniforms for the very first time at home tonight, as the Glory face the Venezuelan Olympic Team")
  12. ↑ Greg Hanson (August 20, 2009). "After stint as pro, Balko at Next Level". Arizona Daily Star . Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Callista Elmore". ArizonaWildcats.com. University of Arizona. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  14. ↑ Hansen, Greg (September 6, 2015). "Callista Balko marries former UA defensive end". Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved June 27, 2018.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.