The perfect game

WANTAGE — Ally Frei is no stranger to perfection - with three perfect games already to her credit - but the High Point High School junior made national headlines on April 8 by striking out all 21 Vernon batters in a 5-0 perfect game that was a little more perfect than the others.

Frei pitched seven innings with no hits, no earned runs, and only two foul balls. Frei now has four perfect games to her credit.

Frei went from local recognition to national headlines overnight. “My brother in Houston called me [last week] and said, 'Hey, your pitcher is on Yahoo sports,’ so she made it nationally,” said High Point Athletic Director Todd Van Orden.

It wasn't long until Sports lllustrated came calling. They wanted to feature Ally’s “perfect” perfect in the April 22 issue of the popular sports magazine. “It was really exciting and was something I didn’t expect to happen,” said Frei, who is continually modest about her recognition.

She credits her success to a lot of practice and her team. “I have a really good team backing me up and really good coaching so it helps a lot,” said Frei. In particular, Frei mentioned her pitching coach, Frank Calcani. “I’ve been seeing him every week since I was 10 years old. He’s great. I love going to him and he teaches me a lot,” said Frei.

High Point's assistant coach Jim Fasano said Frei's hard work prior to pitching her April 8 perfect game speaks to her considerable work ethic. “She spent two hours practicing because she wasn’t happy with the way it was going," said Fasano. "She wanted to get better and the only way to get better is to practice. That’s her motto, ‘work harder, get better.’”

Coach Barbara Fasano also praised the effort that Frei puts into her craft. “I’ve never ever seen anyone work so hard and be so dedicated and show so much passion to the sport," said Barbara Fasano. “She deserves every accolade she gets.”

Frei's mother, Ruth-Ann, said her daughter's success is due to equal parts work ethic and raw talent.

“She probably does something towards her softball every day of the week," said Frei's father, Allan. "Whether it’s running, weight-training, or pitching."

All that hard work has gotten the junior noticed. Her future is locked in with Boston College, which she committed to playing for early this fall. “I went on a visit before I committed and I fell in love right away, so I'm really excited," said Frei. "I love the coaches. I love the school.”