Only hours after Toryn Fulton and the South Florida softball team bowed out of the NCAA Fayetteville (Ark.) Regional, the former WPIAL standout at Franklin Regional was back in her hotel room Sunday night, eager to return to campus the next day to prepare for a hunting trip in northern Florida.
Hog hunting, that is.
“It doesn’t surprise me at all,” Jim Armstrong, Fulton’s coach at Franklin Regional, said after watching South Florida’s nationally televised 10-2 loss to No. 5 Arkansas, eliminating the Bulls from Super Regional contention. “When she told me she was planning to do that, I just figured it sounded like something she’d try.”
Armstrong, who retired last season after 23 years and 273 victories as coach at Franklin Regional, is well aware of Fulton’s ultra-competitive nature.
The freshman outfielder, whose father, Penn Hills grad Bill Fulton, pitched briefly for the New York Yankees, was one of five South Florida players this season with a batting average of better than .300.
In a stellar 44-17 year, Fulton jumped right into the mix just a year out of high school. Following Sunday’s season-ending loss, South Florida posted a 2-2 record at the NCAA regional tournament after winning the American Athletic Conference championship.
“She’s a natural,” Armstrong said. “She doesn’t even have to think about it.”
It was never more evident than Saturday, when, early in South Florida’s 6-4 victory over Washington, Fulton and coach Ken Ericksen were ejected following a collision between Fulton and Washington third baseman Giselle Alvarez on Fulton’s attempt to steal third.
After a lengthy review, umpires ruled the incident was a result of “malicious contact.”
“I was just kind of shocked,” Fulton said. “I wasn’t expecting an ejection.”
Washington catcher Jadyn Glab attempted to pick off Fulton at second, but Fulton began running toward third and was caught in a rundown. She knocked the ball from Alvarez’s glove and went on to score what was thought to be the game’s first run.
“I saw I was in trouble there, and I wanted to do anything I could to avoid being tagged out,” Fulton said. “Obviously, there was no intent to cause an injury or play outside the rules.”
Said Armstrong: “She’s not that kind of person. She really isn’t. The other girl makes an aggressive tag, and Toryn was reacting, trying to avoid being tagged out.
Armstrong insisted that, despite her inexperience beyond the high school level, the 6-foot power-hitting Fulton continued to play unflappable.
“There’s no moping. There’s no (nonsense). She just has ‘it.’ ” Armstrong said. “She has the ability to let anything just roll off her shoulders. People can have all the athletic ability in the world — and she’s athletic in her own rite — but if you don’t have ‘it’ … she doesn’t let things bother her. She’s more worried about others. She wants to help people. It’s just her disposition.”
Fulton, whose seven home runs were second on the team to junior Alex Wilkes’ nine, finished the year fourth in batting average (.310) and OPS (.926).
With her first college season complete, Fulton was biding time back at the team’s hotel before returning Monday morning to South Florida’s Tampa campus in time to go hog hunting.
“I’m content with it,” she said of the team’s 18th NCAA Tournament appearance in Erickson’s 29 years as coach. “I’m looking forward to spending some time with my friends now.”
She was planning to join teammate Sam Walz, a junior outfielder from Lithia (Fla.) Newsome High School, and Walz’s boyfriend on a hunting excursion to Mayo, Fla., 190 miles northeast of Tampa.
For Fulton, it’s not about finding a pig. It’s more about bonding with friends.
And she’s made a ton of them since arriving in the Sunshine State last fall.
“I try not to look at stats too much,” Fulton said. “There are so many leaders on our team, and that, honestly, allowed me to do what I did. Having so many great teammates helping me was big. I’ve never experienced this before.”
At least, not past her sensational, all-state high school days.
“I will talk about her till I grow old,” Armstrong said. “I really feel like she’s the best softball player to come out of this area.”