Ridgeline's Quincy Coder has become model of consistency on field, in classroom | Prep softball

Quincy Coder had been feeling a little nervous ahead of Ridgeline's softball game against Gonzaga Prep last month.

But the uncertainty wasn't about her performance on the diamond.

"The whole night before and that day I was just worrying like crazy, because I didn't know if that call was going to come," Coder said. "I just knew the second I stepped foot on that campus, it was where I needed to be."

The campus in question was Concordia University in Irvine, California, and the call was to see if Coder was one of four students to earn the school's highest academic tuition exchange scholarship.

So when Coder received a call from her mother during fifth-period math class saying she had won the scholarship and would get to attend her dream school, Coder was free to swing away that afternoon for the Falcons.

"I hit two home runs that game, including a grand slam and finished with seven RBIs," Coder said. "Everything just went out of my head when I heard the news and I knew I had already won big that day."

Coder has succeeded both on and off the diamond in her four years at Ridgeline, earning All-Greater Spokane League second-team honors last year in fastpitch, and second-team honors this past fall in slowpitch. She has also maintained straight A's in the classroom while being a member of the National Honor Society.

Jenna Knauss has been Coder's slowpitch coach for all four years at Ridgeline, but is in her first season at the helm of the fastpitch program. Knauss said Coder's leadership and intelligence has been a key part in the Falcons' early-season success.

"She makes it easy, right? Those kids make it easy," Knauss said. "She's positive all the time. She works really hard. She's one of those positive leaders that pulls other people up with her and she's extremely humble."

Knauss also praised Coder's constancy as a player, highlighted by her .421 batting average and .542 on-base percentage in GSL games this season. That line has helped a relatively young Ridgeline squad to an 8-5 league record despite half the roster being new to the varsity level.

Coder has taken pride in grasping a leadership role for the Falcons this year, and believes that success in a sport like softball begins between the ears.

"Just learning from the seniors last year and the players that came before me and picking up the skills and leadership traits they showed has been huge," Coder said. "And my coaches have done such a great job of instilling that softball IQ in me. I just like to see the game a couple steps ahead, always know where I am going with the ball and what the right decision is."

That knowledge of the game has also come from years of club softball throughout the region.

Coder began playing with Spokane Valley Girls Softball Association at 5, followed by a six-year stint with the Liberty Lake Lightning club team. Last year she moved to Stealth 18u in Spokane where she plays with several of the GSL's top players.

"I find the softball community in Spokane can be a little small, but it's so strong and amazing as well," Coder said. "We all know each other and I've gotten to play with so many great players."

That club experience and commitment to the game has also become a key to success for Knauss' squad, as many of the players have had the chance to share the field together even before putting on a Ridgeline jersey.

"So many of these kids are good players before they even get to this program," Knauss said. "But someone like Quincy does a great job giving these girls someone to look up to. I think Quincy's a great example of a role model of like, 'OK, that's what I need to be consistent, good attitude and hard working.' "

Now the focus for Coder, Knauss and the rest of the Falcons lineup is to make noise in the final month of the season in an attempt to snag one of the three state berths from the District 6 3A tournament.

But there is no question Coder will also be keeping a close eye on her schoolwork.

"I've always been taught by my parents that school comes before anything else," Coder said. "And I've found that if I focus and put my best effort into my work in the classroom, everything else will also fall into place."

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