Peninsula’s Emily Barry commits to Northwest University fastpitch

For senior Emily Barry, having a small college experience while staying close to home were some of her core priorities when looking at universities to attend after she graduates from Peninsula High School.

And it looks like she’s found the perfect fit in Northwest University, a private, Christian college in Kirkland, Wash.

Barry committed to play fastpitch for the Eagles earlier in November, and she was noticed by coaches through persistence, emails and of course, a YouTube highlight reel.

“It’s actually a funny story. I have been emailing them since I moved up here almost three years ago,” Barry said. “The assistant coach actually emailed me back and said ‘we talked about you yesterday, coach [Pam] Fink will email you soon. Start applying and we’ll get the process rolling’.”

Not even three hours after that correspondence did Barry hear back from Fink setting up a tour of campus for her. Barry and her mother went there and that’s how she found her ideal school.

Originally hailing from Rosamond, California, Barry and her family will have been settled in the Pacific Northwest for three years in January. Both of her parents served in the Air Force for several years and were stationed at Edwards Air Force base in California.

Taking her freshman year off to focus on herself, Barry eventually joined the Seahawks team as a first baseman and outfielder. Alongside playing for the school, Barry also plays for a select team called the Kitsap Titans since around April.

“When I first moved here, I took a year off; and I just worked out, did my own thing and went to camps,” she said. “My previous team, the Diamond Dusters, had a big team… but they had eight seniors on the team. The following year, all the seniors were gone and we had barely any good players. Both of our pitchers were injured so our team just fell apart.”

As a member of the Seahawks’ team, Barry loves the family aspect and bond she shares with the rest of the team. She has a sister that is seven years younger and a brother that’s two years older, so having girls around her age has been a great feeling for her.

Barry is also the biggest cheerleader of her teammates as well. As the self-proclaimed “power hitter” on the team, nothing is better to Barry than a big, bases clearing hit.

However, the only thing that can possibly top getting a big hit is watching one of her teammates rip one themselves.

“I love the feeling [of the big hit]. Not even just me hitting, when I see my teammates get a good hit, it rallies up everyone,” Barry said. “It’s usually me in the dugout when someone gets a nice hit or something is happening on the field, I start jumping up and down. It’s so much fun, it’s my favorite thing to do.”

Another aspect of the game that Barry enjoys is helping her teammates when the opposing runner is in a pickle. Even if she is not involved, she is jumping up and down encouraging her teammates to get the out.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Barry and the rest of the Seahawks have been subject to limited time for practices all together, only getting together during the open-coaching period.

“I think we are going to do really good this year and go to state. I feel like this has been the most solid our team has been for my whole high school career,” she said. “So I’m really excited. Hopefully we’ll go to state, that’s been my goal since freshman year. And I really want to beat Gig Harbor.”

When she suits up for the Eagles, Barry wants to leave it all on the field for her college career by doing everything she can in every single game. It won’t be any different than how she approaches her games at Peninsula.

Looking beyond Northwest University, Barry wants to stay in fastpitch as a coach for travel teams made up of young players. Her love of kids and helpful guidance is what fuels her dreams to become a teacher and shape minds in the future.

But for now, she and her teammates have to wait until it’s safe to begin playing again.

“I volunteer at the YMCA child watch, I love kids… I want to be a kindergarten teacher,” she said. “I want to help little girls follow their dreams and that’s what I did. I came from a really small town and it was hard. I think Washington gave me so many new opportunities so I want to help those little ones follow their dreams and achieve them.”

Barry and the Seahawks are slated to begin practice on April 26 and in a shortened season, expect to only play for five weeks with a regional championship scheduled for the week of June 7-12.

This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 6:00 AM.