IU softball commit overcame 3 ACL tears to lead Greenfield-Central. 'She's a different breed'

Indianapolis Star

5 hours ago

GREENWOOD — Josie White remembers sitting with her Greenfield-Central softball coach at an IU camp a few years ago, forced to watch off to the side as she recovered from a torn ACL. 'If I have to do this again, I'm quitting. This sucks,' she told her coach.
"And that was just the first time," White said.
'I went through it two more times.'
The second half of that quote is enough to make most anyone do a double take.
Greenfield-Central senior Josie White — who just last week announced her commitment to IU softball — tore her ACL three times during her high school career. The second occurrence limited her to just 18 games as a sophomore, then the third ended her junior campaign after only 12 games.
And each time, the sure-handed shortstop worked her way back.
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"I knew I wasn't ready to be done," she said following Saturday's 6-1 loss to Floyd Central in the Class 4A semistate semifinal. "I love softball and even before I committed, I was like, 'I'm not done. I can't give up this sport. I have no reason to quit.'"
'She's a different breed,' added senior first baseman Leilani Forshey. 'Not very many people would tear their ACL three times and be like, 'Yeah, let's go back. Let's try it again.''
White played the entirety of her senior season and used those 27 games to make up for lost time, batting .500 with 51 hits, 41 runs and 13 RBIs. She was nearly perfect in the field, recording 95 putouts and 16 assists on 116 chances with 12 double plays, and showed off her wheels, swiping a team-high 16 bases.
A career .467 hitter (134 hits in 80 games), White scored twice as part of a stirring come-from-behind win over Pendleton Heights (trailed 7-0) in the sectional, then went 3-for-4 with three runs scored amidst a regional rout of Lawrence North.
On Saturday — one year since her most-recent knee surgery — White clocked a couple hits and scored Greenfield-Central's (19-8) lone run against the Highlanders.
"It's been great (having White as a teammate). I couldn't be more thankful that she's been healthy this year," junior third baseman Savvanna Riall said, fighting back tears as she continued. "I've been playing with her since I was 10, so to see her have a full season and have a great one — that's pretty special."
Those long-running ties and deep connections with her teammates helped White keep going these past few years, pushing her through the moments of doubt. She also played with junior second baseman Kristen Wineinger growing up, the two starting out at pitcher's helper and first base before moving to their current positions.
At home, her parents — former college baseball and softball players themselves — have been a constant source of motivation. "I wanted to be like them — to be better than them," White smirked.
"(My parents) got me here and I'm trying to use what they helped me build, my skills and everything."
Asked what it's meant to play for Greenfield-Central and to lead the Cougars to their first sectional and regional championships since 2017, White replied: "It's just been huge."
"I think everyone around me knows I try to lead by example as best I can and these people are just so amazing, as softball players and outside of it," she continued. "Great friendships have been built. I just loved being here."