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Stanford first baseman Emily Schultz charges in to play a bunt during a game in Columbia, Missouri on Sunday, March 20, 2022. (Colin E. Braley / AP/AP)
The term ultimate competitor may be overused in pieces like this, but for Emily Schultz, I believe it’s fitting.
Schultz wasn’t California dreamin’ her freshman year of high school at Oswego East when she realized softball could be the ticket to helping realize her dream of becoming a doctor.
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As a result, she committed to play at Loyola.
“I always said I’d stay close to home and never thought I’d leave the Midwest,” she said.
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Stanford’s Johnna Schroeder, left, airborne Kaitlyn Lim (21) and Oswego East graduate Emily Schultz (13) greet teammate Taylor Gindlesperger (25) after she scored on an error in a Tuscaloosa Regional game on Sunday, May 22, 2022. (Vasha Hunt / AP/AP)
Two years later, however, a Stanford alumnus who had rebuilt Minnesota’s program was hired to do the same at her alma mater.
Jessica Allister then convinced Schultz to be part of her first recruiting class.
If the shoe fits, wear it. The same could be said for a uniform.
Emily Schultz, an ace pitcher for the Wolves who batted leadoff and hit .553 her senior year, has worn it well in college. She’s a fifth-year senior, settling in at first base for the Cardinal and having started 229 of her team’s 240 games in that span.
“I fell in love with this place,” Schultz said by phone earlier this week as ninth-seeded Stanford (40-13) prepared to host three teams in a double-elimination NCAA regional this weekend. “Five years later, I don’t want to leave.”
Emily and two of her teammates who were in Allister’s initial recruiting class — center fielder Taylor Gindlesperger and shortstop Emily Young — have done what they set out to do in turning around a program that went 4-68 in the Pac-12 in the three seasons before Allister arrived.
Stanford’s Emily Schultz (13) catches a throw to first base on an infield grounder against Fresno State during a game on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (Tony Avelar / AP /AP)
All three are five-year starters and have helped lead the team to the NCAA Tournament every year except 2020, which was limited to 26 games and the postseason canceled due to the pandemic.
It did give them an extra year of eligibility, however.
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They won the Alabama Regional in 2022 and advanced to a super regional but would like to take the next step and qualify for the College World Series in Norman, Oklahoma.
“Emily has saved my life many times at first base with her long reach and hands,” Young said of the 6-foot Schultz in an interview with Stanford communications writer David Kiefer. “I’ll just tell her, ‘I was testing your range.’”
Schultz, a .298 career hitter, is hitting .319 this season with 14 doubles, four triples and 29 RBIs.
Stanford first baseman Emily Schultz (13) throws grounders to her infielders between innings of a Tuscaloosa Regional game on Sunday, May 22, 2022. (Vasha Hunt / AP /AP)
“Schultz is a goofball,” Gindlesperger told Kiefer. “She constantly makes everyone laugh, but she’s also responsible. She’s someone that everyone on the team can call at any time.”
At season’s end, Schulz’s game will change as she looks to move to the next level in another aspect of her life.
“Hopefully, I’ll be in medical school next year at this time,” Schultz said.
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She completed her bachelor’s degree in human biology last spring and has since taken extra graduate classes and written essays for medical school applications.
“The deadline is May 30,” Schultz said. “Most people apply to 20 to 30 schools, hoping to get in to one or two. Stanford’s medical school receives 10,000 applications each year and they take 90. It’s super competitive.”
Northwestern outfielder Ashley Schultz (8) catches a shallow fly ball against Indiana during a Big Ten game on Friday, March 12, 2021. (Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP )
It continues to be a busy year for Schultz and her family.
Her sister Ashley, who’s one year younger, went on to play softball at Northwestern but her career was cut short by injury. She’s still with the program, though. The 12th-seeded Wildcats won the Big Ten Tournament and will also host a regional this weekend in Evanston.
“I tore the quad tendon that attaches it to my knee in February of my sophomore year,” Ashley said.
Injections and rehab didn’t fix the issue and surgery was delayed until October. A projected four-month recovery has extended to just past 18 months, which led to Ashley taking a medical retirement that allowed her to stay with the team and use the program’s facilities.
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She’s running now and assists with coaching the pitchers, calling pitches and traveling with the team. In June, she’ll finish her bachelor’s degree in industrial design.
“They’ve had a good run,” Emily said. “I hope we see each other in the World Series in Oklahoma.”
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Younger brother Noah, a 6-9 pitcher drafted out of high school with the 26th pick in the first round last June by the White Sox, is with the team’s rookie team at extended spring training in Arizona.
Oswego East’s Ashley Schultz connects for a base hit against Bolingbrook during a sectional playoff game in Plainfield on Thursday, June 2, 2016. (Mike Mantucca / The Beacon-News)
“He actually got to come see me play for Stanford for the first time when we played at Arizona State in late April,” Emily said. “He’s still my little brother. I still remember the little 12-year-old at our games, looking for some other siblings to play with off to the side.
“I taught him how to throw, and I’ll never forget our whiffle ball games in the backyard.”
Ashley was a senior when her brother started high school.
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“He came in and we wondered is he gonna make the high school team,” she said. “He’s gone beyond whiffle ball. It was fun watching him grow up — a unique relationship having two older sisters.”
One Emily hopes can reap dividends.
“I hope he gets to the majors,” she said. “I want to get some front row tickets.”
Column: What’s up, doc? Oswego East’s Emily Schultz, in fifth year, leads Stanford turnaround. Hopes med school is next.
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