Softball: Ex-Oswego East star Emily Schultz, in fifth year, helps lead Stanford back to College World Series ‘the dream came true’

Emily Schultz catches an out during a game between Michigan and Stanford Softball at Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium on February 25, 2023 in Stanford, California. Schultz, a former Oswego East star, and Stanford will play in the College World Series this week.

Emily Schultz probably lost count of how many College World Series softball games she watched growing up in Oswego.

Playing in those games?

It seemed like a pipe dream at the time. Even still, when Schultz traveled halfway across the country to play collegiately at Stanford five years ago. But it’s not California dreamin’ anymore.

Schultz, a two-time Record Newspapers Player of the Year at Oswego East and a fifth-year senior at Stanford, is headed to Oklahoma City and the College World Series this week. That’s after the Cardinal swept its super regional with Duke on May 27 to punch a ticket for CWS for the third time in program history, first since 2004.

Stanford (45-13) plays No. 1-ranked Oklahoma in its first CWS game at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN.

“When we won Saturday we were in tears,” Schultz said. “All the hard work that I have put in all the way back to when I started playing softball paid off. The dream came true for that little girl. To say that I get to end my career at the College World Series is something not a lot of girls get to say. It’s a big privilege to be here.”

Schultz, an ace pitcher for Oswego East who hit .553 as a senior, can look back now at a few sliding-door moments that got her to this place.

She originally committed to play at Loyola as a freshman in high school to stay close to home. Schultz remembers playing at a travel tournament, winning 11 games in a row after a loss, to reach Premier Girls Fastpitch Nationals in Huntington Beach, California, where Stanford first caught a glimpse of her on the field.

Stanford coach Jessica Allister, just hired at her alma mater, talked Schultz into becoming part of her first recruiting class as part of a rebuild in Palo Alto.

“I took a chance on coming out to the West Coast,” Schultz said. “Coach talked about getting Stanford back to the World Series and the nationally known powerhouse that it can be. I believed in that vision when I committed to go here. To see where the program has gone is indescribable.”

Emily Schultz hits during a game between Michigan and Stanford Softball at Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium on February 25, 2023 in Stanford, California. Schultz, a former Oswego East star, and Stanford will be playing in the College World Series this week.

A journey of a lifetime indeed. Joining a program that was 4-68 in the Pac-12 the three years before Allister was hired, Schultz recalled the team being shocked to hear their name called for an NCAA Regional in 2019. When the Cardinal was run-ruled at the regional, Allister hugged Schultz and promised her they’d be back.

A career .294 hitter at Stanford, Schultz is batting .304 this season with 14 doubles, four triples, 29 RBIs and 26 runs scored in 58 games. She has started 234 of the 245 games she’s appeared in over the past five seasons, helping lead Stanford to the NCAA Tournament every year except the 2020 pandemic season.

“Freshman year, we were just trying to fight to see another day,” Schultz said. “Now here we are, playing with confidence. We can beat anybody in the country. It’s a big culture shift.”

Schultz received a bachelor’s degree in human biology last spring, worked part-time at the Stanford hospital and has spent the past six months on written essays for medical school applications. Schultz will select the 25 or so schools she wishes to send the applications to, with interviews starting in the fall. The plan is to pursue a career in orthopedic or emergency medicine, but Schultz is keeping her options open.

“It’s a full-year waiting process, pretty intense,” Schultz said. “Once I hit submit, I can hopefully check the first box.”

After COVID canceled the 2020 postseason, Schultz knew that she would want to come back for an additional year of eligibility. That desire likely only grew when Stanford won an NCAA Regional in 2022, but lost in super regionals a step short of the World Series.

“I knew that I would want to come back for the next year,” Schultz said. “I thought there would not be another chance in my life to play a college sport. What’s one more year of delaying medical school? I have the rest of my life to work and study. I saw the direction the program is going, every year was better. My goal was to win a national championship and make it back to the World Series. And here we are.”