A Commitment to the Next Chapter

Only 8.7% of women play softball in college. Of the 8.7% only 1.7% play in the NCAA division (scholarshipstats.com). 

Emma Eaton and Sydney Litton will become a part of that small percentage in the upcoming 2021-2022 school year at Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis, Missouri. 

Litton started playing softball when she was eight years old. As she continued to play, she fell in love with the sport. “I love the team bonding experiences and I get to meet so many new friends.” Throughout her years of playing, one of the closest friends she played with is Emma Eaton. 

Eaton started playing when she was six or seven years old. Similar to Litton, she loves the lifetime friendships that go along with it. She also loved the competition and life lessons learned from playing softball. 

In the spring of 2020, Eaton and Litton signed their commitment to play softball at Missouri Baptist. Litton said, “I chose MoBap because it is close to home with a small campus and I was very comfortable when I took the tour there.”

Eaton and Litton started playing together in AAU leagues and continued to play together in middle and high school. Now they will continue that streak and play together for Missouri Baptist for the next four years. “It [softball] has brought us closer. From long rides, to practice and games, to having ELA together in the 8th grade. Sydney has always been there for me. The older we got and got back on the same travel team, we have gotten so much closer,” Eaton said.  

Playing college softball has always been in the picture for both Eaton and Litton. “My biggest motivation was to get a good scholarship to pay for a good college education,” said Litton. “I have always wanted to play ball in college. As a little 6 year girl. I would watch older girls on tv and in person. Eventually I dreamt to be those girls one day. One day I wanted little girls to look up to me like I looked up to those other girls all those years ago,” said Eaton. 

Friendship is one of the most important things that people can have in their lives and to find that in the sport that you love is even greater than anything else. Their friendship will continue to grow in the next four years and they will be left with the competition, memories, and friendships to last a lifetime.