On April 7, 2009, Kori Seidlitz received the perfect birthday present; the perfect game.

“It was a warm sunny day, we were playing at Mariner High school. I had never pitched a perfect game before and when it got down to my last pitch, I felt… relieved,” Seidlitz said. “I had finally threw a perfect game and my team was able to back me up the whole game. It was my best birthday yet.”

For a lot of high school students, the idea of getting a scholarship and playing their favorite sport in college is a dream, sometimes too far out of reach. Most people dream to develop enough talent to be noticed by scouts, and to be known by colleges. For Kori Seidlitz, it has all become a reality.

Seidlitz received a full ride scholarship to South Dakota State University. Although Seidlitz received offers from other colleges, her heart was set on SDU, which she accepted last fall. After discovering that SDU had one of the top softball teams in the college league, she was really interested in playing for them.

But softball wasn’t the only thing on her mind when she accepted. She planned to go to medical school after four years at the university, which provided a well-known and well-taught medical course that also sparked her interest. She will begin school there this August.

Kori Seidlitz success didn’t come without many long tiring hours of hard work. When Seidlitz was five she played her first year of softball, and at the age of eight, she started to learn the dynamics of playing on the pitchers mound. Seidlitz has played for a total of 13 years and practices more than expected off the field.

When high school softball season comes to an end, Seidlitz pitches on her own three times a week and conditions with teammates to stay in shape. Seidlitz has played in the MTHS Varsity team for all four years of high school was a captain and Varsity’s starting pitcher this year.

“Kori has a great ability on the pitchers mound and she is a great contribute to the team.” teammate Mindy James stated.

In addition to her position on the MTHS Varsity softball team, Seidlitz has played for a select team called the Lake Breeze 18 Gold. They play in the fall and summer, and are one of the top teams in the state at the gold level. During the high school softball season her team only has practice once every other week, and over the summer the team practices non-stop and has had tournaments in a different state every weekend.

Seidlitz made the move from playing in the little leagues to the select teams when she was 11 years old. Her father actually created the first select team she ever played on originally named Diamond Gals, but then was changed into Team Blaze when they became more serious about it.

Along the way Seidlitz has encountered many obstacles that she has had to juggle with throughout her softball career. For example, in a home game against Shorecrest, Seidlitz shattered her thumb after diving to first base while the second baseman jumped for the ball and landed on Seidlitz’s thumb.

“I had never broke a bone before so I didn’t know if it was broken. But take any injury you’ve ever had and multiply the pain by ten and that’s when you know its broken.” Seidlitz expressed. Another incident was when she made an admitted mistake at the pitchers mound.

It was a fall tournament and she was pitching to a girl named Ann who was the #4 hitter in the league. Seidlitz admits to fault by pitching a drop ball that she should have known wasn’t going to do any good for the game. The hitter Ann ended up hitting a line drive that went straight back to Seidlitz nailing her in the shin and leaving a permanent indented bruise in her shin that is still there today. It doesn’t affect her game play today, but it made her realize she should be more careful on the field in the future.

With all of Sidelitz’s drive, it’s no wonder why she has achieved so much for herself, and her teams.