Dorsett thriving following transfer, position change

The color teal has spread through the landscape of softball.

Teal represents ovarian cancer awareness, and softball players and teams from all levels of the game throughout the country have donned the color to honor Alex Wilcox, a Brantley native who passed away from the cancer last June.

Wilcox played travel ball with the Birmingham Bolts organization and went on to play at Mississippi State University. Trussville native Maddie Dorsett was a teammate of hers on both teams.

The two were close friends, and that bond played a large part in Dorsett’s decision last summer to transfer from Mississippi State, where she was a reserve outfielder, to Samford, where she could return to her natural infield position and be a regular in the lineup.

“It really came down to Alex, to be honest,” Dorsett said in an April interview. “I wanted to really actually play for her again, just really give it all I had for her. … I just made the decision and I’m glad I did.”

Dorsett’s high school coach, Karen Johns, is enjoying seeing her “excited about playing ball.”

“The dirt [in the infield] is where she belongs,” Johns said. “Her game has always been in the infield; she’s got great hands, great feet and a great arm.”

When the Bulldogs hosted UAB on April 30, they donned jerseys with teal letters and numbers, something Dorsett said she had been looking forward to the entire season.

“To see the community of softball come together and honor [Alex’s] name and ovarian cancer, it’s amazing,” she said.

Dorsett has three bracelets on her left wrist, all in honor of Wilcox. She even saw a high school team honoring Wilcox with their accessories recently.

“I went to one of [younger sisters] Abigail and Hannah’s game the other night, and the other team was wearing teal,” Dorsett said. “It’s just a constant reminder of her and everything she left us with.”

Dorsett said Wilcox was far more than a successful softball player. Her selfless attitude never wavered, even in her toughest times.

“Alex was just someone that you wouldn’t know what she was going through if you didn’t know,” Dorsett said. “She was one that would always put others first. No matter what she was dealing with, if I was having a bad day, she would make sure I was OK.”

FITTING IN

Dorsett also knew what she would be getting from Samford head coach Mandy Burford, and it has been a great fit so far.

“She cares about us not only as players but as people as well,” Dorsett said. “That’s something that’s important to me.”

Dorsett shared a few mutual friends with players on the Samford team and any initial anxiety was quickly relieved once she became assimilated with her new team.

“It was really easy fitting in with all them and they were really welcoming, so it was awesome,” she said.

Dorsett has been playing, and playing well, at Samford this spring. Through the end of April, she held a .300 batting average and led the team with 45 hits. Samford finished the season 23-31 overall, but put together an 11-6 mark in conference play.

STARTING SOMETHING SPECIAL 

Dorsett fondly recalls the 2015 Hewitt-Trussville High School softball team that had a tremendous season and advanced to the state tournament. 

“We had a good group of girls that year,” she said. “We knew if we were ever going to make a run for it, it was going to be that year.”

That was Dorsett’s junior year, and she began to hit her stride as an offensive player. Dorsett made the switch from hitting right-handed to being a lefty slapper around ninth grade, and Johns remembers having countless conversations with her shortstop about her hitting.

“She was so hard on herself,” Johns recalls. “But the light bulb went on and she had a phenomenal junior year, and I could tell it started to make sense to her.”

The most iconic moment from that season for anyone on that Huskies team was a dominant 16-1 victory over perennial power Spain Park, a win that vaulted Hewitt to the state tournament.

“I remember running off that field and we were so excited,” Dorsett said.

That run has lifted the Huskies program to new heights, with the team returning to the state tournament once again in 2018 and 2019. During her years there, Dorsett played with at least five others who are still playing in college. 

Taylor Beshears (Jacksonville State), Amber Hammonds (UAH), Bailey Murphy (Birmingham- Southern) and Tate Moseley (Auburn) were all key contributors on that 2015 squad.

“Taylor was behind the plate and Amber was in center field, so Maddie (at shortstop) was the anchor of the infield,” Johns said. “They all had a lot of confidence in her in the infield … She was still one of the leaders even though she was a junior.”

BEING A ROLE MODEL

Dorsett can still be spotted at the occasional Hewitt-Trussville game when it doesn’t conflict with her own softball schedule. Abigail (junior) and Hannah (eighth grade) are both starters for the Huskies.

“I’m very thankful that they’re on the same team,” Dorsett said. “It’s awesome to be able to go to one game midweek and see both of them play.”

Dorsett claims that Hannah is the best athlete of the three but maintains that she is the fastest. 

When told of their eldest sister’s opinion, neither Hannah nor Abigail disagreed.

“She’s been a great role model for them,” Johns said. “I see them doing a whole lot because of her. They are so ready for their moments because of Maddie. They watched and learned, and I’m sure they heard things that she shares with her parents.”

During that interview in April, Dorsett didn’t say much about herself, spending the majority of the time discussing her new teammates, Wilcox and her younger sisters.

Her high school coach wasn’t surprised. “People need to know what a great person she is and how she helps others and gives so much to others all the time,” Johns said. “She’s very selfless, and that’s what makes her awesome.”