By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
ELMER — Rick Higinbotham and his daughter, Shyann, were in the car on their way to their weekly ice cream trip to Cream Valley Custard in Woodstown on Monday night — but it wasn’t just any other ride.
There was a sense of tension in through the air.
That’s because Rick, the head softball coach at Arthur P. Schalick High, and Shyann, a sophomore on the Woodstown softball team, were set to square off against each other 24 hours later for the second time in her high school career, and first time under the lights at the annual Elmer Classic game between Woodstown (7-6, 5-1 Tri-County Diamond) and Schalick (8-4, 5-2 Tri-County Diamond).
“Last night, he was just saying some of the strategies they were doing, what pitches they might throw for us, stuff like that,” Shyann, Woodstown’s leadoff hitter who won the first game against her father on April 2, said after Tuesday night’s game. “He likes to say what pitches he might throw, but then sometimes he might fake me out and say this is what he’ll throw instead. We just talk about his strategy and my strategy, but I don’t give too much away to him, and it’s just all fun in the end. I think it’s cool because I know my dad, so I get to talk about stuff like that with him, but it’s nothing personal at the end of the day. It’s the biggest game of the year for my whole family. Everyone likes to come, it’s a big game.”
Shyann’s strategy proved to be most lethal. The sophomore had a big day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs to power Woodstown past Schalick, 13-3, in six innings to win the 13th annual event. Ellie Wygand and Hannah Hitchner each had three RBIs for the Wolverines, and Kendall Young and Aubrie Rennie combined for four of Woodstown’s 15 hits. Leah Clark struck out six and allowed just four hits to pick up the win in the circle. The game has long been a rivalry between the Salem County nemeses, but the unique matchup added a twist.
Rick, who’s in his third season as the head coach at Schalick and a Business Education teacher at the school, said he also coached against his two older daughters, Shelby, a 2020 Woodstown graduate, and Shayla, a 2023 graduate, while on staff with other teams. While with Camden Academy Charter in 2019, his program fell to Shelby’s Woodstown squad, 11-0, during her junior year.
“It’s always fun to watch them succeed, but it’s painful when it’s against you,” he chuckled. “I’ve coached against all three of my daughters, so it’s been fun. All three have played for Woodstown. I’ve coached other teams against them. We have a little banter back and forth. We go over strategy, what we’re going to do against her and we kind of have fun with it.
“Schalick vs. Woodstown has always been a big rivalry,” he added. “It’s been since I was playing. Just the fact of playing Woodstown against Schalick is always big.”
Shyann has played a pivotal varsity role for Woodstown this season with nine hits and five RBIs. A third of the sophomore’s hits this season have now come against her father’s team.
“Her biggest two games have been against her dad,” first-year Woodstown coach Rob Hildebrand said. “I think it’s really, really special and probably very difficult being a father and understanding the situation he is in. He has to coach against his daughter. Very tough being a leadoff hitter, the only slap hitter on the team, the only lefty in our whole entire program. She’s a needed, very valuable tool.”
Even more impressive about her impact is that she took a break from softball prior to this season and didn’t play her entire freshman year.
“It’s awesome. It’s something that I don’t think has ever happened in the state,” said Hildebrand. “Someone can prove me wrong, but to have a player play against their father — with the things she’s gone through at this point — where she didn’t play last year. She came out this year and got rejuvenated, for whatever reason, it was for softball again, and she’s come up big.
“And that connection with her and her dad being a rival is something I can’t even speak about. It’s so difficult to even talk about. She definitely had extra motivation for sure. I don’t think I could coach against my own kid. Rick is one of the best human beings I’ve ever talked to. As a human being and person to be able to deal with that, is something pretty special.”
Said coach Higinbotham, “we didn’t think she was going to come back (to play softball), but she did. I’m glad. As long as she’s having fun and enjoying it, that’s what’s important.”
“She has skills that are unique. She can bunt. She has good speed, and she can hit the ball when she needs to. She gets a lot of her talent from her sisters and her mom. She’s a good ball player.”
She more than enjoyed herself on Tuesday night playing in front of both of her sisters, as well as her mother, Jenn, among other family members.
Her mom wore a Woodstown shirt with a Schalick jacket on top, while her sister Shelby just rocked Schalick.
“My sister was wearing Schalick tonight, she didn’t know who to root for,” Shyann said. “She used to coach for Schalick, so it was a big deal for her, too. And she used to play for Woodstown, so it’s adversity.”
As you can imagine, it was indeed a family affair.
“You want to win more because it’s someone that you know,” she said. “You feel a little bit bad, but at the end of the day it’s a game and you’re playing to win.”
It’s safe to say she made the right decision returning to the softball field.
“Maybe for a little bit, but at the end of the day, he knows it’s a game and he’ll be okay,” she replied when asked if breakfast will be awkward Wednesday morning.
